#599Thursday, October 23, 2025
Strands answers for October 23, 2025 — “Please don't eat me!” (#599)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for October 23, 2025 (puzzle #599) is POISONOUS, a 9-letter answer to the theme "Please don't eat me!". The 5 theme words are AZALEA, BELLADONNA, FOXGLOVE, HEMLOCK and OLEANDER.
Where is each answer on the October 23 Strands board?
The 5 theme words for Strands on October 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.
| Answer | Letters | Starts | Ends | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AZALEA | 6 | row 7, column 1 | row 8, column 4 | left to right |
| BELLADONNA | 10 | row 7, column 2 | row 6, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| FOXGLOVE | 8 | row 3, column 4 | row 3, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| HEMLOCK | 7 | row 5, column 4 | row 5, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| OLEANDER | 8 | row 1, column 6 | row 2, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| POISONOUS | 9 | row 1, column 1 | row 8, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
What did the October 23 Strands grid look like?
The Strands board for October 23, 2025 is a six-column, eight-row grid of 48 letters.
Spangram — 9 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 P-N-A-E-L-O, row 2 reads D-O-D-E-R-V, row 3 reads O-A-I-F-O-E, row 4 reads N-L-S-O-G-L, row 5 reads N-L-O-H-X-K, row 6 reads A-E-N-E-M-C, row 7 reads A-B-E-O-L-O, and row 8 reads Z-A-L-A-U-S.
How hard was the October 23 Strands puzzle?
Measured against the full archive, the October 23, 2025 puzzle lands in the average range — above 53% 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 October 23 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #599 was edited by Tracy Bennett and constructed by Sam Corbin. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.
Common questions about the October 23 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on October 23, 2025?
The Strands clue for October 23, 2025 is “Please don't eat me!”, on puzzle #599. It is answered by the spangram POISONOUS, and all 5 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on October 23, 2025?
The 5 Strands theme words for October 23, 2025 are AZALEA, BELLADONNA, FOXGLOVE, HEMLOCK and OLEANDER, plus the spangram POISONOUS.
What was the big word in the October 23, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for October 23, 2025 is POISONOUS, 9 letters long, running from row 1, column 1 to row 8, column 6. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “Please don't eat me!” mean?
The Strands theme “Please don't eat me!” for October 23, 2025 means POISONOUS — 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 October 23, 2025?
Strands puzzle #599 has 5 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the October 23, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #599 rates average on a computed index, harder than 53% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on October 23, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Thursday, October 23, 2025 is #599, 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 October 2025, part of the full Strands archive.