December 30, 2025 — If you sat down to play the New York Times word game Strands this morning and felt the puzzle tug at your memory of 2025’s biggest songs, you were on the right track. Today’s Strands puzzle leaned into a music theme tied to the year’s biggest hits, and the spangram that ties the board together was HITSONGS.
Below you will find the full set of answers, the in-game hint triggers, plus a natural, step-by-step strategy I use when a themed Strands puzzle shows up. I will also add a few observations about why this particular puzzle felt both nostalgic and fair, and how to avoid getting stuck.
Quick answers (spoiler alert)
If you want the answers up front, here they are for Strands #667:
- GOLDEN
- ABRACADABRA
- DAISIES
- MANCHILD
- ORDINARY
- SPANGRAM: HITSONGS.
If you prefer to solve the puzzle yourself, stop reading now. The rest of this piece explains how the puzzle works, how the hints line up, and practical tips for solving similar Strands puzzles in the future.
What was today’s theme and why it mattered
Today’s theme was labelled 2025 Top Twenty, meaning the words on the board were the kinds of song titles or phrases you might see in a year-end best songs list. That made the puzzle feel more like a musical memory test than a pure letter-finding drill. The theme nudged players toward pop culture answers rather than ordinary vocabulary words.
The spangram — the special strand that uses every letter in the board at least once — was HITSONGS. Once you identify the spangram, the rest of the board becomes easier because the spangram reveals what the curator had in mind when choosing the themed words.
In-game hints and how to use them
Strands gives you progressive hints when you play certain seed words. Today, the in-game hint triggers and useful clue words included:
- STAY
- BRAISE
- SCORN
- BLOG
- RAID
- DIED
Playing any of those words unlocks the in-game hint system and nudges the solver toward the theme and spangram. If you are stuck early, type one of those clue words and accept the hint. It will usually point you to a corner of the puzzle or reveal a word direction.
A gentle walkthrough: how I found today’s answers
- Scan the board for obvious chunks. Strands words are built by following letter connections across the grid. I first looked for short common letter pairs like DA, IS, or OR that could anchor a longer title. Looking for fragments that resemble song titles speeds things up.
- Find the spangram early. Because the theme indicated music hits, I scanned for letter combinations that might spell a concise music phrase. Once I spotted the letters that could make HITSONGS, everything started to fall into place. The spangram usually touches multiple sides of the board, so tracking a long path that traverses the grid is a good clue.
- Use the provided clue words when stuck. When my progress slowed, I entered one of the hint words such as BLOG. The hint nudged me towards the top left quadrant where GOLDEN lived. That word unlocked some overlapping letters and showed how the puzzle maker was using shared letter runs to knit several answers together.
- Trust the theme but verify letter connectivity. Some song-title answers may look plausible but do not connect across the board. For example, ABRACADABRA looks obviously magical and it did appear in today’s puzzle, but I double checked that it formed a continuous path and used letters that overlapped with other answers. Confirming paths prevents false leads.
- Finish with the long or awkward words. Today the long, quirky answer MANCHILD appeared. Those hybrid or unusual words often cross the board and are best left for the end when other crossings make the path obvious.
Why today’s puzzle felt “Easy” to many players
Multiple solvers described this puzzle as easier than average. That makes sense for a few reasons:
- The theme was narrow and culturally anchored. Players could narrow possible answers to song titles or music phrases, removing a lot of lexical noise.
- The spangram HITSONGS was relatively short and letter-rich, making it discoverable early. Once the spangram is found, the board’s logic becomes clearer.
- The curated clue words are deliberately helpful on themed days. They are designed to put you on the right trail rather than give away everything. Use them without guilt.
Tech writers who recap these puzzles often give a difficulty rating and a short solver comment. For this edition, reviewers described it as “Easy” and reported clean runs to perfect scores. That matches the experience many players had online today.
Common traps and how to avoid them
- Starting from the wrong end. It is very easy to begin building a long word from a less helpful corner. If you feel stuck, step back and try scanning for a potential spangram path instead of forcing local words.
- Guessing without path verification. Some titles look so convincing that players assume they fit. Always check the actual letter connectivity on the board.
- Ignoring the theme. On themed days, the puzzle creator expects you to use outside knowledge. If you treat it like a pure tile puzzle, you will waste time exploring irrelevant words.
- Overconfidence in short words. Short words can be red herrings. Use them to reveal wiring, but do not rely on them to unlock the whole board.
Broader note on Strands play strategy
Strands blends pattern recognition with a little trivia. For casual players, a low-pressure approach works best. Look for the spangram, use hint words sparingly, and let the theme guide you. For streak-keepers who play every day, practice scanning techniques. Familiarity with pop culture themes, common proper nouns, and titles helps a surprising amount.
If you prefer a technical tip, try scanning the board along diagonals as well as rows and columns. Many long words snake diagonally, and diagonals are often overlooked in early passes.
Why recaps like this matter
Daily recaps for games like Strands do more than hand out answers. They:
- Provide learning moments for new players. Seeing a solver’s path helps people learn to spot spangrams and theme cues faster.
- Keep the community connected. Players trade tricks and celebrate clever puzzles together.
- Preserve a tiny cultural snapshot. Today’s 2025 top songs theme was a little musical time capsule. That is part of the appeal. Tech sites and puzzle recappers aim to help, not spoil, by placing a big spoiler warning at the top. Use that if you want to remain unspoiled.
Final thoughts and my takeaways
Today’s Strands was a pleasant mix of nostalgia and fair play. The theme made the answers memorable, and the spangram felt satisfying to find. The puzzle designer balanced trivia with solvability by ensuring each themed word overlapped enough with others to allow gradual discovery. For players who felt blocked at first, the suggested hint words were a tidy lifeline.
If you are building a daily routine around NYT word games, here are three micro habits that help long term:
- Look for theme cues immediately. Any cultural hint narrows the field.
- Find the spangram early. Treat it like the backbone of the puzzle.
- Play one hint word intentionally. It is better to learn than to fumble.
Where this recap came from
This article is based on today’s Strands recap and answer set that was circulated by puzzle recappers and tech outlets covering Strands game #667. For the official experience, always play the puzzle on the New York Times Games site.
The summary of theme, hint words, answers and spangram reported above matches the game details published by puzzle recappers today.
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