Calling all home cooks and word puzzle enthusiasts! Today’s NYT Strands #656 puzzle, released December 19, 2025, brings the kitchen into the game with a delicious theme that’ll have you thinking about your culinary knife skills. Whether you’re stuck on that tricky spangram or just need a gentle nudge, we’ve got all the hints and answers to keep your daily streak alive.
Table of Contents
NYT Game Info
| NYT Strands #656 Details |
|---|
| Date: December 19, 2025 (Friday) |
| Theme: “On the chopping block” |
| Spangram: MAKINGTHECUT (12 letters) |
| Total Words: 7 (6 theme words + 1 spangram) |
| Difficulty: Medium |
| Best Starting Word: JULIENNE |
| Trickiest Word: CHIFFONADE |
Understanding Today’s Theme
According to the official New York Times Games page, today’s theme revolves around culinary cutting techniques. “On the chopping block” is a clever play on words—these are all methods chefs use to prepare ingredients with knives.
If you’re new to Strands or need a refresher on how word puzzle mechanics work, the game challenges you to find theme-connected words that fill the entire 6×8 letter grid without overlapping.
Gentle Hints (No Spoilers!)
Spangram Clue: Think about what you’re literally doing when you use any of these cutting techniques. It’s a verb phrase that spans 12 letters and connects opposite sides of the board.
Theme Word Hints:
- One technique creates thin ribbons (especially for herbs) 🌿
- A classic French cut that makes matchstick-shaped pieces 🥕
- The finest level of chopping 🔪
- Creating small, uniform squares 🎲
- Larger than dicing 📦
- The most basic cutting motion ✂️
Starting Strategy: Look for JULIENNE at the top of the board—it’s the easiest to spot and will help unlock the rest!
The Full Answer Reveal
⚠️ SPOILER WARNING: Complete solutions below! ⚠️
Spangram: MAKINGTHECUT (starts with M in row 3, left side, snakes down to bottom right)
Theme Words:
- JULIENNE – Thin matchstick cuts
- DICE – Small uniform cubes
- SLICE – Basic flat cuts
- MINCE – Extremely fine chopping
- CUBE – Larger uniform blocks
- CHIFFONADE – Ribbon-cut leafy greens
Why CHIFFONADE Is the Puzzle’s Star
According to puzzle feedback across word game communities, CHIFFONADE stumped the most players today. This French culinary term describes cutting leafy vegetables or herbs into thin ribbons by stacking, rolling, and slicing. It’s that fancy technique you’ve seen on cooking shows but never knew had a name!
Pro Tip: If you’re stuck on any word, find three non-theme words (any 4+ letter combinations) to earn a hint. Words like MAKE, KING, DINE, or MICE work great for today’s puzzle.
How Today’s Puzzle Compares
Difficulty Assessment: Medium (3/5)
Home cooks and culinary enthusiasts likely breezed through this one, while others may have struggled with specialized terms like CHIFFONADE and JULIENNE. The spangram MAKINGTHECUT was relatively easy to spot once you identified a few theme words.
For comparison with yesterday’s puzzle (Strands #655), which featured immune system boosters, today’s kitchen theme felt more cohesive and accessible to general audiences.
FAQs
Q: What does the Strands spangram mean and how do I find it?
The spangram is a special word that describes the overall puzzle theme and must touch two opposite edges of the board (top-to-bottom or side-to-side). It highlights in yellow when found. For December 19’s puzzle, MAKINGTHECUT starts with the M three rows down on the left edge and winds through the grid to the bottom right. The spangram always uses letters that connect all theme words together.
Q: I found all six theme words but can’t complete the puzzle. What am I missing?
You’re missing the spangram! Unlike regular theme words that highlight in blue, the spangram highlights in yellow and uses the remaining letters after you’ve found all six theme words. For today’s puzzle, if you’ve found JULIENNE, DICE, SLICE, MINCE, CUBE, and CHIFFONADE, the leftover letters spell MAKINGTHECUT. Remember: every single letter on the board must be used exactly once.
