#353Wednesday, February 19, 2025
Strands answers for February 19, 2025 — “Pick your own prefix” (#353)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for February 19, 2025 (puzzle #353) is BERRIES, a 7-letter answer to the theme "Pick your own prefix". The 8 theme words are BLACK, BLUE, ELDER, GOLDEN, HUCKLE, RASP, SALMON and STRAW.
Where is each answer on the February 19 Strands board?
The 8 theme words for Strands on February 19, 2025 are listed below, followed by the spangram.
The table gives the start square, end square and travel direction of all 9 answers. Every position comes from solving the grid outright — the answers have to tile all 48 letters with no overlap and no remainder, which is what makes a single arrangement provable.
| Answer | Letters | Starts | Ends | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLACK | 5 | row 2, column 4 | row 4, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| BLUE | 4 | row 8, column 5 | row 6, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| ELDER | 5 | row 6, column 4 | row 7, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| GOLDEN | 6 | row 6, column 2 | row 7, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| HUCKLE | 6 | row 4, column 5 | row 1, column 6 | bottom to top |
| RASP | 4 | row 1, column 1 | row 2, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| SALMON | 6 | row 6, column 1 | row 5, column 6 | left to right |
| STRAW | 5 | row 1, column 5 | row 2, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| BERRIES | 7 | row 5, column 1 | row 3, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
What did the February 19 Strands grid look like?
The Strands board for February 19, 2025 is a six-column, eight-row grid of 48 letters.
Spangram — 7 letters8 theme words
Each line traces one answer through the letters it uses; the heavier yellow line is the spangram.
Read across the grid, row 1 reads R-A-R-T-S-E, row 2 reads A-P-W-B-C-L, row 3 reads S-C-L-U-S-K, row 4 reads K-E-A-R-H-E, row 5 reads B-A-R-M-I-N, row 6 reads S-G-L-E-O-E, row 7 reads O-E-N-L-R-U, and row 8 reads L-D-D-E-B-L.
How hard was the February 19 Strands puzzle?
On the same measure applied to every puzzle since 2024, Strands #353 comes out easy, ahead of 18% of them.
Easiest puzzle ever published on the left, hardest on the right. The formula behind the score, and the ranked list of every puzzle, are on the Strands difficulty index.
Who made the February 19 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #353 was edited by Tracy Bennett and constructed by CJ Robinson and Natalie Erjavec. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.
Common questions about the February 19 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on February 19, 2025?
The Strands clue for February 19, 2025 is “Pick your own prefix”, on puzzle #353. It is answered by the spangram BERRIES, and all 8 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on February 19, 2025?
The 8 Strands theme words for February 19, 2025 are BLACK, BLUE, ELDER, GOLDEN, HUCKLE, RASP, SALMON and STRAW, plus the spangram BERRIES.
What was the big word in the February 19, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for February 19, 2025 is BERRIES, 7 letters long, running from row 5, column 1 to row 3, column 5. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “Pick your own prefix” mean?
The Strands theme “Pick your own prefix” for February 19, 2025 means BERRIES — that is what the spangram spells, and every one of the 8 theme words is an example of it.
How many theme words are in Strands February 19, 2025?
Strands puzzle #353 has 8 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the February 19, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #353 rates easy on a computed index, harder than 18% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on February 19, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Wednesday, February 19, 2025 is #353, counting from the game's launch on March 4, 2024.
Today’s puzzle and its hint ladder are on the front page. This puzzle sits in February 2025, part of the full Strands archive.