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NYT Strands Answer & Hints — “Pass it along”, December 22, 2025

Stuck on the December 22, 2025 NYT Strands puzzle? Here are progressive hints and the full answer for the “Pass it along” puzzle (Strands #352 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 December 22, 2025 NYT Strands puzzle. Scroll past this section if you want to solve it yourself first.
Hint 1: The themeReveal

The theme for the December 22, 2025 NYT Strands puzzle is “Pass it along”. 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 “Pass it along” puzzle is 9 letters long and starts with the letter R. It touches two opposite edges of the grid, as every NYT Strands spangram does.

Hint 3: How many theme wordsReveal

Besides the spangram, the December 22, 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 December 22, 2025 NYT Strands “Pass it along” puzzle is REGIFTING. 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 December 22, 2025 NYT Strands “Pass it along” puzzle:

  • BOOK
  • CANDLE
  • EARRINGS
  • GADGET
  • LOTION
  • SCARF
  • WINE

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

Answers for the December 22, 2025 NYT Strands puzzle. Strands Unlimited is an independent fan archive — today's NYT Strands is free on nytimes.com/games/strands.

About the "Pass it along" NYT Strands puzzle

The theme "Pass it along" sets the scene for this Strands puzzle with a descriptive phrase that hints at what the hidden words have in common. Descriptive themes in Strands work like a title for a category — they paint a picture, and the theme words are the details that fill it in. This travel & places puzzle asks you to find words that fit within the world the theme describes, with the spangram acting as the key that connects them all.

At 7 theme words, this is one of the denser puzzles in the archive. The grid is packed, so words will be closer together. With 9 letters, the spangram is mid-length — long enough to stand out in the grid but still requiring careful scanning to trace from edge to edge. Originally published on a Monday, Puzzle #352 is a more recent addition to the 509+ puzzle archive.

#352
Puzzle Number
7
Theme Words
9
Spangram Letters
Challenging
Difficulty

How to approach "Pass it along"

  • The theme paints a picture. Brainstorm 5-10 words that come to mind when you read it, then scan the grid for those words or close variants.
  • 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.
  • Every single letter in the grid belongs to exactly one word. If you've found most theme words, the remaining letters must spell out what's left — use process of elimination.
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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.