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NYT Strands Answer & Hints — “Say when ...”, January 11, 2025

Stuck on the January 11, 2025 NYT Strands puzzle? Here are progressive hints and the full answer for the “Say when ...” puzzle (Strands #11 of 509 in our archive). Every reveal is hidden by default — click to open the ones you need.

Spoiler warning. The answers below are for the January 11, 2025 NYT Strands puzzle. Scroll past this section if you want to solve it yourself first.
Hint 1: The themeReveal

The theme for the January 11, 2025 NYT Strands puzzle is “Say when ...”. Every theme word and the spangram connects back to this phrase, so think about what related words might fit a 6×8 grid of 48 letters before you start scanning.

Hint 2: Spangram length and first letterReveal

The spangram for the “Say when ...” puzzle is 6 letters long and starts with the letter T. It touches two opposite edges of the grid, as every NYT Strands spangram does.

Hint 3: How many theme wordsReveal

Besides the spangram, the January 11, 2025 NYT Strands puzzle has 7 theme words. Together with the spangram, they use every letter on the 6×8 grid exactly once.

Answer: Full spangramReveal

The spangram for the January 11, 2025 NYT Strands “Say when ...” puzzle is TIMING. It spans two opposite edges of the 6×8 grid and captures the theme directly.

Answer: All theme wordsReveal

Here are the 7 theme words for the January 11, 2025 NYT Strands “Say when ...” puzzle:

  • DAWN
  • DAYBREAK
  • DUSK
  • EVENING
  • MORNING
  • NOON
  • TWILIGHT

Plus the spangram TIMING, that’s every word on the grid — all 48 letters accounted for.

Answers for the January 11, 2025 NYT Strands puzzle. Strands Unlimited is an independent fan archive — today's NYT Strands is free on nytimes.com/games/strands.

About the "Say when ..." NYT Strands puzzle

"Say when ..." — the theme reads like a direct instruction, and this Strands puzzle follows through on it. Imperative themes give you a strong starting hint because they describe an action or concept in plain terms. The spangram will connect to this instruction, and the wordplay & language theme words scattered across the grid are all things you might associate with following it. Let the command guide your search strategy.

At 7 theme words, this is one of the denser puzzles in the archive. The grid is packed, so words will be closer together. The 6-letter spangram is on the shorter side, which can actually make it harder to spot — shorter words have fewer distinctive letter patterns to latch onto. Originally published on a Saturday, Puzzle #11 is from the early days of the Strands archive — one of the original puzzles that established the game's style.

#11
Puzzle Number
7
Theme Words
6
Spangram Letters
Medium
Difficulty

How to approach "Say when ..."

  • The theme reads as a direct instruction. Take it literally as your starting strategy — what words would you associate with following this command?
  • There are 7 theme words packed into this grid. Try to find 2-3 shorter words first to free up space and make the remaining words easier to trace.
  • Theme words can bend and curve in any direction, including diagonals. They don't follow straight lines like a traditional word search — trace paths that zigzag across the grid.
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Strands Unlimited is an independent fan archive of past Strands puzzles. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by The New York Times Company. NYT Strands is a trademark of The New York Times Company. Today's daily puzzle is free at nytimes.com/games/strands.