Original data study · 67 consecutive puzzles
We analyzed 67 NYT Strands puzzles. Here’s what 3,216 letters reveal.
Which letters dominate the grid? How long is a typical spangram? And which answer carries the highest Scrabble-style value? We counted every cell from puzzle #820 through #886.
At a glance
Six findings from the dataset
E leads the grid
It appeared 355 times, comfortably ahead of every other letter.
J, Q, X and Z stay rare
Together, the four letters occupied only 40 of 3,216 cells.
Average theme-word length
The median was six letters, but answers ranged from 4 to 14.
Average spangram length
Nearly three quarters contained between 9 and 13 letters.
Vocabulary stayed fresh
Only five of the 390 theme-word appearances were repeats.
Highest tile-value answer
TZATZIKI tops the sample before any Scrabble board bonuses.
Methodology
How we calculated these NYT Strands statistics
The dataset contains every PuzzleNudge Strands entry from puzzle #820 through puzzle #886. That gives us 67 consecutive daily puzzles rather than a hand-picked selection.
For each puzzle, we counted the letters in every theme word and spangram. Spaces and punctuation were removed, but repeated letters were preserved. Because every board has 48 cells, the final total gave us an integrity check: 67 × 48 equals the observed 3,216 letters.
For the letter-value section, we used the English-language tile values published by Hasbro. We added the value of each letter without applying double-letter, triple-letter or word bonuses.
Finding 01
E leads the Strands letter-frequency table
E appeared more often than any other letter in the 67-puzzle sample. It filled 355 cells, while A ranked second with 256. The eight most common letters—E, A, R, O, T, I, S and N—accounted for 61.82% of every letter counted.
Share of all 3,216 grid cells
The five standard vowels—A, E, I, O and U—made up 37.53% of the grid cells. That describes this fixed sample only; it is not a rule for predicting a future board.
View the complete A–Z frequency table
| Rank | Letter | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | E | 355 | 11.04% |
| 2 | A | 256 | 7.96% |
| 3 | R | 246 | 7.65% |
| 4 | O | 241 | 7.49% |
| 5 | T | 241 | 7.49% |
| 6 | I | 233 | 7.25% |
| 7 | S | 215 | 6.69% |
| 8 | N | 201 | 6.25% |
| 9 | L | 166 | 5.16% |
| 10 | C | 136 | 4.23% |
| 11 | U | 122 | 3.79% |
| 12 | M | 98 | 3.05% |
| 13 | P | 98 | 3.05% |
| 14 | D | 97 | 3.02% |
| 15 | H | 96 | 2.99% |
| 16 | G | 83 | 2.58% |
| 17 | B | 72 | 2.24% |
| 18 | Y | 52 | 1.62% |
| 19 | F | 51 | 1.59% |
| 20 | W | 45 | 1.40% |
| 21 | K | 43 | 1.34% |
| 22 | V | 29 | 0.90% |
| 23 | Z | 13 | 0.40% |
| 24 | Q | 10 | 0.31% |
| 25 | X | 9 | 0.28% |
| 26 | J | 8 | 0.25% |
Finding 02
Rare letters are scarce, but they create memorable answers
J, Q, X and Z appeared only 40 times across 3,216 cells. None was absent, but each was uncommon enough to stand out when it arrived.
Several of the sample’s highest-value answers owe their position to these letters. TZATZIKI is the clearest example: its two Zs are worth 10 points each in the English-language Scrabble system, accounting for two-thirds of its 30-point total.
These values describe letter composition, not solving difficulty. Theme familiarity, clue interpretation and the path through the grid can matter more than letter rarity.
Finding 03
Most theme words are between four and eight letters
The 390 theme words averaged 6.4 letters, with a median of six. Five-letter words formed the largest single group, but the distribution was broad enough that players could not rely on one standard answer length.
Theme words versus spangrams
The shortest theme words were four letters long. At the other end, WHIPPERSNAPPER was the longest at 14 letters, followed by the 13-letter ENTERTAINMENT.
Answer count varied too. A puzzle had an average of 5.8 theme words, excluding its spangram. Six-word puzzles were most common, appearing 29 times; five-word puzzles appeared 18 times. Together, those formats accounted for 70.15% of the sample.
Finding 04
Strands spangrams are longer, but not always single words
The 67 spangrams averaged 10.6 letters, with a median of 10. Every spangram in the sample was unique. The shortest contained seven letters, while the longest contained 15.
Lengths from 9 through 13 accounted for 73.13% of the sample. The three 15-letter spangrams were BEVERAGECOOLERS, BILLYGOATSGRUFF and EXTREMELYONLINE after spaces and punctuation were removed for counting.
That normalization matters. A spangram can express the theme as more than one word, so counting visible characters without documenting spaces would make comparisons inconsistent.
Finding 05
Almost every theme word appeared only once
Of 390 theme-word appearances, 385 were unique. Only five repeated during the 67-day window:
In other words, 98.72% of theme-word entries were unique within this sample. That does not mean the words had never appeared before puzzle #820 or will never appear again. It shows only that this recent run maintained a wide vocabulary while publishing every day.
For solvers
What the results can—and cannot—tell you
The data describes recent puzzle construction, but it is not a shortcut to tomorrow’s answers. Knowing that E is common may help when scanning a dense board; a valid answer still needs the right theme and a legal path through adjacent letters.
- Expect a medium-length answer. Most theme words had four to eight letters, with longer outliers still possible.
- Keep longer phrases in view. A 9-to-13-letter phrase is a plausible spangram candidate in this sample.
- Notice rare letters. They narrow the vocabulary, but do not automatically mark a theme word.
- Use the clue and remaining shape. They provide more evidence than frequency alone.
Try the patterns on a real board
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Questions
NYT Strands statistics FAQ
What is the most common letter in NYT Strands?
E was the most common letter in this sample of 67 recent puzzles. It appeared 355 times, representing 11.04% of the 3,216 grid cells analyzed.
What is the average Strands spangram length?
The average was 10.6 letters in puzzles #820–#886. The median was 10 letters, and 73.13% of the observed spangrams were between 9 and 13 letters after spaces and punctuation were removed.
How many theme words are in a Strands puzzle?
The puzzles in this sample contained four to eight theme words plus one spangram. The average was 5.8 theme words, and six was the most common count.
Does a high Scrabble-style value mean a Strands word is harder?
No. The value only summarizes an answer's letters using standard English Scrabble tile points. Strands difficulty also depends on the clue, theme, word familiarity, and route through the grid.
Will this study be updated?
The PuzzleNudge Strands statistics page updates as new puzzles are added. This article records a fixed 67-puzzle sample so its tables and conclusions remain reproducible.
Conclusion
A familiar alphabet still makes room for surprise
These NYT Strands statistics show both repetition and variety: a small group of letters fills most cells, while nearly every theme word in the sample appears only once. Across 67 puzzles, the typical answer was six letters and the typical spangram was about ten—but entries such as TZATZIKI and WHIPPERSNAPPER gave the dataset its sharpest edges.
The next useful step is not guessing from frequency alone. Combine those patterns with the clue and the shape of the remaining grid.