Strands Hint

#630Sunday, November 23, 2025

Strands answers for November 23, 2025 — “Sweet tooth” (#630)

The NYT Strands spangram for November 23, 2025 (puzzle #630) is CANDYAISLE, a 10-letter answer to the theme "Sweet tooth". The 5 theme words are DOTS, NERDS, RUNTS, STARBURST and WHATCHAMACALLIT.

DOTSNERDSRUNTSSTARBURSTWHATCHAMACALLITCANDYAISLE

Where is each answer on the November 23 Strands board?

The 5 theme words for Strands on November 23, 2025 are listed below, followed by the spangram.

The table gives the start square, end square and travel direction of all 6 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.

Verified board positions, Strands puzzle #630
AnswerLettersStartsEndsDirection
DOTS4row 7, column 5row 7, column 4diagonally across the grid
NERDS5row 2, column 2row 1, column 3diagonally across the grid
RUNTS5row 6, column 1row 7, column 2diagonally across the grid
STARBURST9row 3, column 1row 6, column 2top to bottom
WHATCHAMACALLIT15row 1, column 5row 8, column 4top to bottom
CANDYAISLE10row 8, column 3row 1, column 4bottom to top

What did the November 23 Strands grid look like?

The Strands board for November 23, 2025 is a six-column, eight-row grid of 48 letters.

RDSEWHENALTASTRSCHUBYIAMRSDACARTNTOAUSASDLNTCTIL

Spangram — 10 letters5 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-D-S-E-W-H, row 2 reads E-N-A-L-T-A, row 3 reads S-T-R-S-C-H, row 4 reads U-B-Y-I-A-M, row 5 reads R-S-D-A-C-A, row 6 reads R-T-N-T-O-A, row 7 reads U-S-A-S-D-L, and row 8 reads N-T-C-T-I-L.

How hard was the November 23 Strands puzzle?

On the same measure applied to every puzzle since 2024, Strands #630 comes out above average, ahead of 76% of them.

Difficulty
76
percentile, above average
Path turns
26
direction changes
Decoy words
1052
non-theme words accepted
Mean answer
7.6
letters per theme word

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 November 23 Strands puzzle?

Strands puzzle #630 was edited by Tracy Bennett and constructed by Christina Iverson. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.

Common questions about the November 23 Strands puzzle

What was the clue for Strands on November 23, 2025?

The Strands clue for November 23, 2025 is “Sweet tooth”, on puzzle #630. It is answered by the spangram CANDYAISLE, and all 5 theme words that day belong to that idea.

What were the Strands words on November 23, 2025?

The 5 Strands theme words for November 23, 2025 are DOTS, NERDS, RUNTS, STARBURST and WHATCHAMACALLIT, plus the spangram CANDYAISLE.

What was the big word in the November 23, 2025 Strands?

The big word — the spangram — for November 23, 2025 is CANDYAISLE, 10 letters long, running from row 8, column 3 to row 1, column 4. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.

What did the Strands theme “Sweet tooth” mean?

The Strands theme “Sweet tooth” for November 23, 2025 means CANDYAISLE — that is what the spangram spells, and every one of the 5 theme words is an example of it.

How many theme words are in Strands November 23, 2025?

Strands puzzle #630 has 5 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.

How difficult was the November 23, 2025 Strands puzzle?

Strands #630 rates above average on a computed index, harder than 76% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.

What number was the Strands puzzle on November 23, 2025?

The Strands puzzle published on Sunday, November 23, 2025 is #630, 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 November 2025, part of the full Strands archive.