Clues and Solutions for the Strands Puzzle on April 4, 2025
For anyone eagerly searching for tips and answers concerning the Strands puzzle for April 4, 2025, you’ve come to the right place! This post will provide useful hints and insights, culminating in the complete solution for today’s theme: “Step on it!”
To conveniently revisit these hints each day, consider bookmarking this page. Previous hints are accessible there as well, allowing you to catch up on any puzzles you may have missed.
Below, oblique hints will guide you to today’s answers. Further down, the spangram and the complete answers will be revealed. Take your time and extract only the clues you find necessary!
Clue for the Spangram
The spangram refers to a general category of surfaces found beneath your feet in a household, which is also related to a common department in stores like Home Depot.
Clue for Theme Words
These are specific hard surfaces that one might choose to install within kitchens, hallways, and bedrooms.
Spoiler Alert: Answers Ahead!
The time has come to disclose the answers for today’s Strands puzzle.
What is the Spangram?
The spangram for today is FLOORING.
What are the Theme Words?
The identified theme words are: HARDWOOD, LINOLEUM, TERRAZZO, CONCRETE, LAMINATE.
Here’s the completed board for your reference:
Solving the Strands Puzzle
The phrase “Step on it!” is often associated with thrilling car chase scenes in films, but today it might lean more towards themes of movement or dance.
The two Zs located in the lower-right, paired with the “ING,” are likely connected.
Spotting the word FLOOR was promising, but trying FLOORING revealed it to be the spangram! What a delightful discovery, as it sets a foundation for solving the rest of the puzzle.
A look at the upper row reveals HARDWOOD. 🔵
LINOLEUM makes an appearance in the top-right corner. 🔵
The double Zs lead to TERRAZZO, a tile variant. 🔵
CONCRETE sits above the spangram. 🔵
And finally, we have LAMINATE. 🔵
Strands #397 “Step on it!” 🟡🔵🔵🔵 🔵🔵
Participating in Strands
The Strands game can be accessed on the New York Times website or through the NYT Games app. Upon starting, players will encounter a game board filled with letters, alongside a hint regarding the board’s overarching theme—which typically is a phrase such as “Better with age.” The objective is to discover hidden words within the arrangement that align with the theme.
A Fusion of Crossword and Word Search
The most essential word to find is the spangram, which explicitly describes the theme of the puzzle. For instance, in a puzzle themed “Better with age,” the spangram would be FERMENTED, denoting products that improve over time. This word will traverse the entire board either horizontally or vertically. Identifying the spangram usually simplifies the completion of the remaining puzzle components.
In Strands, words can arrange in any direction (up, down, sideways, or diagonally), and each letter can be utilized only once. There is a singular correct solution for each puzzle. Upon successfully identifying a theme word, such as KOMBUCHA, MISO, or KIMCHI, it will be highlighted in blue.
Should the puzzle prove challenging, players can submit non-theme words of four letters or more to earn hints. After submitting three such words, the “Hint” button becomes active; using it will highlight the letters of one theme word, although players must still link these letters in the correct order. If an additional hint is used before solving for a previously hinted word, its letter order will then be revealed.
Winning Strands
In contrast to games like Connections and Wordle, Strands does not allow for failure. Upon submitting guesses, players either identify an answer correctly, earn hints, or receive a visual shake indicating the incorrectness or brevity of their guess. There is no limit on guesses, nor any time constraints.
A victory in Strands is achieved when players have accurately utilized all letters on the board, signifying they have found both the spangram and all corresponding theme words. As is typical with NYT games, after solving the puzzle, players will see a shareable card that showcases their performance for the day: blue dots 🔵 represent the theme words uncovered, the yellow dot 🟡 indicates the discovery of the spangram, and a lightbulb 💡 signifies words garnered from hints.
