Strands Hint

#558Friday, September 12, 2025

Strands answers for September 12, 2025 — “That's classic” (#558)

The NYT Strands spangram for September 12, 2025 (puzzle #558) is TIMEHONORED, a 11-letter answer to the theme "That's classic". The 5 theme words are AGELESS, ANTIQUE, ENDURING, HISTORIC and VINTAGE.

AGELESSANTIQUEENDURINGHISTORICVINTAGETIMEHONORED

Where is each answer on the September 12 Strands board?

Strands #558 resolves to these 5 theme words plus the spangram TIMEHONORED.

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 #558
AnswerLettersStartsEndsDirection
AGELESS7row 8, column 5row 6, column 4diagonally across the grid
ANTIQUE7row 5, column 2row 7, column 1diagonally across the grid
ENDURING8row 2, column 6row 7, column 6top to bottom
HISTORIC8row 2, column 3row 4, column 4diagonally across the grid
VINTAGE7row 1, column 1row 5, column 1top to bottom
TIMEHONORED11row 8, column 6row 1, column 3diagonally across the grid

What did the September 12 Strands grid look like?

Puzzle #558 is played on 48 letters arranged in eight rows of six.

VIDISTNEHROETROIDNGANCUREAOHEINESSMNETLGIGUQIEAT

Spangram — 11 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 V-I-D-I-S-T, row 2 reads N-E-H-R-O-E, row 3 reads T-R-O-I-D-N, row 4 reads G-A-N-C-U-R, row 5 reads E-A-O-H-E-I, row 6 reads N-E-S-S-M-N, row 7 reads E-T-L-G-I-G, and row 8 reads U-Q-I-E-A-T.

How hard was the September 12 Strands puzzle?

The difficulty index rates puzzle #558 as above average: it sits at the 67th percentile of every Strands grid to date.

Difficulty
67
percentile, above average
Path turns
25
direction changes
Decoy words
1129
non-theme words accepted
Mean answer
7.4
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 September 12 Strands puzzle?

Strands puzzle #558 was edited by Tracy Bennett, who also constructed it. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.

Common questions about the September 12 Strands puzzle

What was the clue for Strands on September 12, 2025?

The Strands clue for September 12, 2025 is “That's classic”, on puzzle #558. It is answered by the spangram TIMEHONORED, and all 5 theme words that day belong to that idea.

What were the Strands words on September 12, 2025?

The 5 Strands theme words for September 12, 2025 are AGELESS, ANTIQUE, ENDURING, HISTORIC and VINTAGE, plus the spangram TIMEHONORED.

What was the big word in the September 12, 2025 Strands?

The big word — the spangram — for September 12, 2025 is TIMEHONORED, 11 letters long, running from row 8, column 6 to row 1, column 3. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.

What did the Strands theme “That's classic” mean?

The Strands theme “That's classic” for September 12, 2025 means TIMEHONORED — 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 September 12, 2025?

Strands puzzle #558 has 5 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.

How difficult was the September 12, 2025 Strands puzzle?

Strands #558 rates above average on a computed index, harder than 67% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.

What number was the Strands puzzle on September 12, 2025?

The Strands puzzle published on Friday, September 12, 2025 is #558, 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 September 2025, part of the full Strands archive.