The New York Times daily Strands puzzle for December 20 challenges players with a festive theme. For those seeking assistance, here’s a breakdown of hints and the complete solution. The puzzle centers around common Christmas decorations and traditions, requiring players to identify words connected to this theme within the letter grid.
Understanding the Rules
Strands tasks players with finding hidden words that fit a unifying theme. The game reveals theme words once three four-letter or longer words are discovered. This mechanic is designed to provide progressive hints, but some puzzles can still prove tricky.
Hints for Today’s Puzzle
Today’s theme is “All the trimmings,” referencing common Christmas decorations. One clue to help unlock the puzzle is the phrase “O Tannenbaum,” a well-known reference to Christmas trees.
Words to Unlock Hints
Finding any valid words of four letters or more will trigger in-game hints. Some possible words include:
- RIOT, RIOTS
- TAME, NAME
- SLIT, SLITS
- RATS, SAME
- GLEAN, SORE
- LEAN, LEANS
- CENT, LOST
- MANE
Complete Solutions
The non-spangram answers for today’s Strands puzzle are:
- STAR
- ANGEL
- LIGHTS
- RIBBON
- TINSEL
- ORNAMENT
The spangram, which spans the puzzle grid, is CHRISTMASTREE. Locate the starting ‘C’ four letters down on the far-left row to trace the full word.
Previous Challenging Puzzles
Some recent Strands puzzles have stood out for their difficulty. Notable examples include the January 21 puzzle centered around “Dated slang,” with “PHAT” as the toughest word, and the January 15 puzzle themed on “Thar she blows!” where “BALEEN” or “RIGHT” proved challenging for many players.
The Strands puzzle continues to test vocabulary and pattern recognition, providing daily mental exercise for New York Times subscribers.
