Spoiler warning: This page gives staged hints before revealing the answers to NYT Strands No. 657, from Saturday, December 20, 2025. The theme is “All the trimmings.” Stop at any hint level to avoid seeing the full solution.
NYT Strands No. 657 theme hint
The theme is “All the trimmings.” The puzzle’s extra hint is seasonal decorations, as reported by Forbes.
Words that unlock an in-game hint
Finding three valid words unrelated to the theme earns an in-game hint that highlights one theme word. The reported non-theme words for this puzzle are:
- SNAG
- TANG
- HORN
- STORE
- MEAT
- BONG
Forbes describes Strands as a word search on a six-by-eight grid. Letters can connect vertically, horizontally, or diagonally; theme words stay blue and the spangram is yellow.
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Spangram hint for No. 657
The spangram has 13 letters. Its path touches the left edge at row four and the bottom edge at column three, according to TechRadar.
Full answers for “All the trimmings”
Stop here if you do not want the complete solution. Forbes’s opening-letter pairs for the theme words are OR, ST, CH, LI, RI, AN, and TI.
The six theme words are STAR, ORNAMENT, LIGHTS, RIBBON, TINSEL, and ANGEL. The spangram is CHRISTMASTREE (also written as “CHRISTMAS TREE”).
The answers are corroborated by TechRadar and Forbes, whose guides were published December 19, 2025. This is a historical answer set for game No. 657, dated Saturday, December 20, 2025; the cited guides are the sources for these answers.
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