NYT Strands game #488, dated July 4, 2025, has the theme “Let’s have a picnic!” Its spangram is BARBECUE, and the six theme words are BEANS, BRATS, BURGERS, COLESLAW, SALAD, and WATERMELON. Hints are below; the complete solution appears after a spoiler warning.
Hints for Strands #488
Use these clues in order if you want help without seeing every answer at once.
- Theme hint: Think about food you might bring to a picnic.
- More specific hint: The puzzle has a Fourth of July angle; focus on what you might eat at a holiday gathering.
- Spangram hint: It has eight letters. Its path touches the top edge at the fourth column and the bottom edge at the fourth column.
To earn an in-game hint without using the solution list, TechRadar suggests finding the words BARN, LORE, BUGS, STAR, TRACE, and SNORE in the grid. TechRadar’s July 4, 2025 guide provides those clue words and the spangram’s endpoints.
Spoiler warning: full answer list
The answers for game #488 are:
- BEANS
- BRATS
- BURGERS
- COLESLAW
- SALAD
- WATERMELON
Spangram: BARBECUE
TechRadar and Forbes independently list the same six theme words and spangram; Forbes’ July 4 answer guide also supplies the Fourth of July food hint.
Why the date matters
This is a historical answer page for July 4, 2025, not a live answer for the current date. Strands changes at midnight according to the player’s time zone, so “today” may refer to different puzzle dates depending on where a reader is playing. TechRadar explains that daily rollover in its guide to the July 4 puzzle.
Quick Recap
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