#496Saturday, July 12, 2025
Strands answers for July 12, 2025 — “In the ballpark” (#496)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for July 12, 2025 (puzzle #496) is STADIUM, a 7-letter answer to the theme "In the ballpark". The 6 theme words are BULLPEN, GLOVE, HELMET, JUMBOTRON, PEANUTS and PITCHER.
Where is each answer on the July 12 Strands board?
Here are all 6 theme words from the July 12, 2025 Strands puzzle, with the spangram last.
The table gives the start square, end square and travel direction of all 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BULLPEN | 7 | row 5, column 2 | row 5, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| GLOVE | 5 | row 8, column 5 | row 6, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| HELMET | 6 | row 3, column 1 | row 1, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| JUMBOTRON | 9 | row 1, column 5 | row 4, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| PEANUTS | 7 | row 8, column 1 | row 7, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| PITCHER | 7 | row 5, column 6 | row 8, column 6 | top to bottom |
| STADIUM | 7 | row 5, column 1 | row 5, column 5 | left to right |
What did the July 12 Strands grid look like?
Every letter below appears in exactly one answer — the 7 words tile all 48 cells of the July 12, 2025 grid.
Spangram — 7 letters6 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 T-M-L-T-J-U, row 2 reads E-E-R-D-O-M, row 3 reads H-O-A-L-I-B, row 4 reads N-T-U-E-L-U, row 5 reads S-B-N-P-M-P, row 6 reads E-V-O-C-T-I, row 7 reads S-T-U-L-H-E, and row 8 reads P-E-A-N-G-R.
How hard was the July 12 Strands puzzle?
Measured against the full archive, the July 12, 2025 puzzle lands in the easy range — above 10% of all Strands puzzles.
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 July 12 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #496 was edited by Tracy Bennett and constructed by Joel Fagliano. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.
Common questions about the July 12 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on July 12, 2025?
The Strands clue for July 12, 2025 is “In the ballpark”, on puzzle #496. It is answered by the spangram STADIUM, and all 6 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on July 12, 2025?
The 6 Strands theme words for July 12, 2025 are BULLPEN, GLOVE, HELMET, JUMBOTRON, PEANUTS and PITCHER, plus the spangram STADIUM.
What was the big word in the July 12, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for July 12, 2025 is STADIUM, 7 letters long, running from row 5, column 1 to row 5, 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 “In the ballpark” mean?
The Strands theme “In the ballpark” for July 12, 2025 means STADIUM — that is what the spangram spells, and every one of the 6 theme words is an example of it.
How many theme words are in Strands July 12, 2025?
Strands puzzle #496 has 6 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the July 12, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #496 rates easy on a computed index, harder than 10% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on July 12, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Saturday, July 12, 2025 is #496, 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 July 2025, part of the full Strands archive.