You can play today’s Strands on the New York Times Games site at nytimes.com/games/strands.

Strands #571 theme and spangram (September 25, 2025)

Item Value
Theme Simply divine
Spangram HEAVENSENT
Spangram length 10 letters
Board position Touches the left and right edges on row 3
Start → end hint Begins at the first “H” in row 3 and finishes at the last “T” in row 3
NYT difficulty rating Moderate

Non-spoiler board pointers (shape only)

  • The spangram starts on the third row’s “H,” arcs upward, then routes over to land on the third row’s final “T.”
  • It spans from the left edge to the right edge of the board, touching opposite sides.
  • As always in Strands, every letter on the board is used exactly once.

Full Strands #571 answers (spoilers)

Theme words
HERALD
MESSENGER
ARCHANGEL
SERAPH
GUARDIAN

Spangram: HEAVENSENT

How Strands hints and scoring work (quick refresher)

  • Enter any valid four-letter word that isn’t a solution to bank progress toward a hint.
  • Every three such words unlock one hint. The first hint highlights the letters used in the next answer (not the path).
  • If you trigger another hint on the same word, the game will reveal the connection path letter by letter.
  • The number of hints you use is reflected in your final result; solve count and hint usage matter, not your elapsed time.

Yesterday’s Strands answers (game #570)

Theme words
GAPE
GRIN
SCOWL
POUT
SMILE
SNEER
FROWN
SMIRK

Spangram: EXPRESSIONS

Strands rolls over at midnight in your local time zone, so you’ll get a fresh grid tomorrow. If you’re still solving today, the “Simply divine” cue and HEAVENSENT spangram should point you toward the angelic set above.