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NYT Strands Answer & Hints — “It's a little buggy”, May 29, 2025

Stuck on the May 29, 2025 NYT Strands puzzle? Here are progressive hints and the full answer for the “It's a little buggy” puzzle (Strands #146 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 May 29, 2025 NYT Strands puzzle. Scroll past this section if you want to solve it yourself first.
Hint 1: The themeReveal

The theme for the May 29, 2025 NYT Strands puzzle is “It's a little buggy”. 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 “It's a little buggy” puzzle is 6 letters long and starts with the letter I. It touches two opposite edges of the grid, as every NYT Strands spangram does.

Hint 3: How many theme wordsReveal

Besides the spangram, the May 29, 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 May 29, 2025 NYT Strands “It's a little buggy” puzzle is INSECT. 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 May 29, 2025 NYT Strands “It's a little buggy” puzzle:

  • BUTTERFLY
  • DRAGONFLY
  • FLEA
  • HORNET
  • MANTIS
  • MOTH
  • WASP

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

Answers for the May 29, 2025 NYT Strands puzzle. Strands Unlimited is an independent fan archive — today's NYT Strands is free on nytimes.com/games/strands.

About the "It's a little buggy" NYT Strands puzzle

The theme "It's a little buggy" plays with language in a way that's typical of the best Strands puzzles. There's likely a double meaning or clever twist embedded in this phrase — and the spangram reveals which interpretation the puzzle maker intended. This arts & culture puzzle rewards lateral thinking. Don't just take the theme at face value; consider what else the words could mean when read a different way.

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 Thursday, As puzzle #146 of 509+, this one comes from the middle of the Strands collection, when the puzzle makers had hit their stride.

#146
Puzzle Number
7
Theme Words
6
Spangram Letters
Medium
Difficulty

How to approach "It's a little buggy"

  • This theme contains wordplay — don't take it at face value. Think about alternative meanings and which interpretation the hidden words might support.
  • 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.
  • Work from the corners of the grid — corner letters have fewer possible neighboring connections, which limits where words can go and makes them easier to trace.
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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.