The New York Times debuted its first crossword puzzle on February 15, 1942, in the Sunday Magazine, a groundbreaking move that established it as the first major newspaper to feature a crossword puzzle. Created by Charles Erlenkotter and edited by Margaret Farrar, this initiative paved the way for various popular games over the years. Among them is the Mini Crossword, introduced in 2014, followed by well-loved games like Spelling Bee, Letter Boxed, and Tiles. In 2022, the NYT launched Wordle, which quickly captured global attention, along with other intriguing games such as Connections and the latest addition, Strands.

NYT Strands presents a fresh daily challenge, inviting players to uncover a multitude of words within a themed grid. One of its remarkable aspects is the Spangram, a unique word that spans the grid's two opposing sides. This innovative approach has rapidly attracted a devoted player base, enhancing the excitement of the NYT's diverse puzzle offerings.

For those facing challenges with the Strands puzzles from January 1, 2025, the theme is 'What a workout'. The hints provided include:

• The first word involves picking up a heavy barbell from the ground.
• The second word describes dropping quickly to the floor and springing back up.
• The third word is about lowering yourself as if sitting in an invisible chair.
• The fourth word resembles folding your body in half, like a less enjoyable taco.
• The fifth word entails lying down and then rising up to strengthen your core.
• The sixth word involves stepping forward and bending your knees to sculpt your legs.
• The seventh word is staying solid and steady, like a plank of wood.

Today's answers include the words: deadlift, burpee, squat, crunch, situp, lunge, and plank. Additionally, the Spangram for January 1 is Exercise.

For the following day, January 2, 2025, the Strands puzzle theme shifts to 'Super Bowl'. Helpful hints provided for this challenge are:

• A vegetable with long light-green stems which can be used as a salad or a cooked vegetable; starts with the letter “C” and ends with “Y”.
• The long orange root of a plant that is eaten as a vegetable; starts with “C” and ends with “S”.

Today's answers include: STOCK, PEPPER, CELERY, NOODLES, CARROTS, and ONIONS. The Spangram for today is ChickenSoup.

NYT Strands combines elements of various word puzzle genres, providing players with a 6 x 8-inch grid of letters and a daily theme. The objective is to solve the Spangram and uncover all theme-related words using a simple drag-and-connect method to form words.

For further details on the January 1 puzzle, visit Times of India, and for January 2, check here.