Today’s Theme: “Getting into gear”

The New York Times Strands puzzle #551 for Friday, September 5, 2025 centers on sporting equipment and athletic gear. This theme focuses on items you’d need to participate in various sports and recreational activities.

Quick Summary for Solvers

Theme: Getting into gear
Spangram: SPORTINGGOODS (13 letters)
Difficulty Level: Moderate to Hard

Complete Answers

Theme Words

• GLOVE – Protective hand covering for baseball, boxing, or other sports
• CLEATS – Spiked athletic shoes for traction on grass or turf
• RACKET – Equipment used in tennis, badminton, or squash
• HELMET – Protective head gear for cycling, football, hockey, etc.
• PADDLE – Flat implement used in kayaking, ping pong, or paddleball
• SKATES – Footwear with wheels or blades for skating

The Spangram

SPORTINGGOODS spans 13 letters from the top row (4th column) down to the bottom row (5th column). This encompasses all the theme words as items you’d find in a sporting goods store.

Solving Strategy and Hints

Progressive Hints

General Hint: Stock up for sports
Specific Clue: Think about equipment you wear or hold during games
Store Connection: Items you might find at a Big 5 or Dick’s Sporting Goods

Letter Pattern Clues

Looking for these starting letter combinations can help:

• CL (CLEATS)
• RA (RACKET)
• GL (GLOVE)
• HE (HELMET)
• SK (SKATES)
• PA (PADDLE)

Helpful Non-Theme Words

If you need in-game hints, try finding these words to unlock letter highlights:
TALE, DALE, PLOD, CRIT, KALE, PALE, DOOM, LOOM, TEAL, LATE, PORK, PORT

Alternative helper words: CRACKLE, SLAP, DOOM, SPEAK, THIN, CAGE

Puzzle Analysis

This Friday puzzle presents a moderate to hard difficulty with several contributing factors:

Challenging Aspects:

• Most theme words are 6 letters long, making them harder to spot initially
• The 13-letter spangram requires careful tracing through the grid
• Some equipment terms might not be immediately obvious to all solvers

Helpful Elements:

• Once you identify the sporting goods theme, the remaining words become clearer
• The variety of sports represented (from skating to tennis to baseball) provides multiple entry points
• No repeated letters within individual words simplifies the search

Theme Recognition Strategy

The puzzle works best when you can identify 1-2 theme words early to establish the pattern. GLOVE and CLEATS often serve as good starting points since they’re common sporting terms. Once you recognize these are sporting goods, you can systematically search for other athletic equipment.

About NYT Strands

Strands challenges players to find theme-related words hidden in a 6×8 letter grid. Each puzzle includes:

• 6 theme words that relate to the daily theme
• 1 spangram that spans from one side of the board to the other and describes the theme
• Helper system: Every 3 non-theme words you find reveals one theme word

Release Schedule: New puzzles appear daily at midnight in your local time zone.