If you're feeling stuck or just don't have 10 or more minutes to figure out today's puzzle, we've got all the NYT Strands hints for today's puzzle you need to progress at your preferrined pace. The words are common phrases. These words are three word phrases with a in the middle. Today's NYT Strands spangram is vertical.

Need some assistance with NYT Strands today? Today's theme — "___ a ___" — is really quite hard to decode at first, but will become clear with a few answers on the board. Below, we've compiled some useful hints for Strands #412,

Warning: Spoilers ahead! In today's puzzle, there are seven theme words to find (including the spangram). Hint: The first one can be found in the top half of the board. Here are the first two letters for each word: Today's spangram answer on Friday, April 18, 2025, is GAMEPIECES.