NYT Strands today — hints, spangram and answers for game #416 (Wednesday, April 23 2025)

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Need help with Strands #416? Here are some hints and the answers

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Need some assistance with NYT Strands today? Today's theme — "What a softie!" — is a tricky one, even when you have an answer or two on the board.

Below, we've compiled some useful hints for Strands #416, as well as the answers, should it come to that. We'll start off with some clues, before building up to the full answer for Strands #416, so read on if you need a little help.

Warning: Spoilers lie ahead for Strands #416.

Today's NYT Strands answer — Today's theme and hints

The official theme for NYT Strands #416 is... "What a softie!"

And here's an unofficial hint from me: "Feel the frizz!"

If you're still in the dark, here are some useful words to give you those valuable clue tokens:

  • PLAIN
  • SURE
  • CHEAT
  • CHILL
  • SLING
  • KING
  • SING
  • REEL

Still struggling? The spangram will give you a hint about the connection word. Today, it starts with G and ends with Y.

Scroll down to find out what it is...

It's GETFUZZY.

Today's Strands answers

So, what are today's Strands answers for game #416?

Drumroll, please...

  • SLIPPERS
  • DUCKLING
  • PEACH
  • CHENILLE
  • CATERPILLAR

Strands #416

(Image credit: Alan Martin)

...and the spangram was What a softie!

Strands #416

“What a softie!”

🔵🟡🔵🔵

💡🔵🔵

Hi Strands fans. The biggest giveaway to today's answers is the double 'Z' in the spangram.

But before I found that, I had located SLIPPERS in the top-left corner. With that and the spangram of GETFUZZY, it was clear this would be about fuzzy things.

That, it turns out, is quite a wide spread of things, and after finding DUCKLING cornered off in the bottom-left segment and PEACH on the right, I was a bit stumped.

Eventually, I used a clue, which revealed CHENILLE - an answer I wouldn't have thought of in a million years - in the bottom-right corner. That just left CATERPILLAR to unwind in the top-right corner to finish the puzzle.

Yesterday's Strands answers

Reading this in a later time zone? You can find the full article on yesterday's Strands answers for game #415 right here.

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Alan Martin
Alan Martin

Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the web and in the occasional magazine too. When not weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. Or, more likely, playing Spelunky for the millionth time.

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