Finding it early can reshape how you see the rest
Each morning, a small grid of letters invites players to find the hidden language of the human face — and today's New York Times Strands puzzle, numbered 570, centers on that most intimate of human vocabularies: the expressions we wear without speaking. Released on September 24, 2025, under the theme 'Lip Service,' the puzzle asks solvers to locate eight words for the mouth's silent grammar, from the warmth of a smile to the contempt of a sneer. At its spine runs a single organizing word — EXPRESSIONS — a reminder that even in play, we are always searching for the shape of feeling.
- A blank grid stares back at the morning solver, eight hidden words waiting to be traced from the language of the human face.
- The spangram EXPRESSIONS runs vertically through the entire board, and missing it means navigating the puzzle without its most essential compass.
- Words like scowl and sneer carry emotional weight that can trip up solvers who think too literally, while gape and smirk reward those who pause to feel the word before finding it.
- Built-in hints offer a lifeline without giving the answer away — describing furrowed brows or a knowing half-smile to nudge solvers back on course.
- Rated just 1 out of 5 for difficulty, the puzzle lands as an accessible, even welcoming challenge — one that rewards early spangram identification with a much cleaner path to completion.
On the morning of September 24, 2025, the New York Times released Strands puzzle #570, themed 'Lip Service' — an invitation to think about the small, wordless movements of the mouth and what they reveal about inner life.
The puzzle hides eight words across its grid: smile, grin, pout, smirk, gape, frown, scowl, and sneer. Each one names a distinct emotional posture, from the openness of a grin to the cold contempt of a sneer. Together they form the puzzle's backbone, intersecting with surrounding letters to fill the board.
Running vertically through the entire grid is the spangram: EXPRESSIONS. This single word acts as a skeleton key — find it early, and the rest of the puzzle reorganizes itself around a clear center. For solvers who miss it, the grid can feel scattered; for those who locate it first, the path forward becomes significantly more legible.
For anyone stuck, the puzzle's hint system offers gentle redirection without surrendering the answer — describing a mouth hanging open in surprise, or brows furrowed in concentrated anger, letting the solver arrive at gape or scowl on their own terms.
Rated 1 out of 5 for difficulty, this is one of the more forgiving puzzles in the Strands rotation — well-suited for newcomers or anyone who wants a warm, unhurried start to the day.
On September 24, the New York Times released Strands puzzle number 570, and if you've made this game part of your morning routine, you're probably already staring at the grid wondering where to begin. The theme for today is Lip Service—a straightforward invitation to think about the small movements of the mouth and what they signal about how someone is feeling.
The puzzle asks you to find eight words that capture different ways a face can speak without sound. There's smile, the most obvious one. Then grin, which is smile's wider, more emphatic cousin. Pout appears—that deliberate pushing forward of the lips. Smirk is there too, that knowing half-smile that suggests you're in on a secret. Gape, the mouth hanging open in surprise or confusion. Frown, the downward curve that signals displeasure. Scowl, which goes further—not just a frown but a frown paired with furrowed brows, the whole face arranged to broadcast anger or seriousness. And sneer, the contemptuous curl of the lip that shows disdain.
These eight words form the backbone of the puzzle, intersecting with other letters to fill the grid. But there's a larger word hiding in the structure itself: EXPRESSIONS. This is the spangram, the word that runs the full length of the board—in this case, vertically—and it acts as a kind of skeleton key. Finding it early can reshape how you see the rest of the puzzle, because once you've locked in EXPRESSIONS, you've essentially identified the theme's core and can work backward from there.
For players new to Strands or simply stuck on a particular word, the puzzle offers hints rather than direct answers. If you're struggling with a word meaning to stare with your mouth hanging open, that's pointing you toward gape. If the hint describes furrowed brows arranged to give a serious, angry look, you're being guided toward scowl. These hints are designed to let you solve the puzzle yourself while still offering a lifeline when you're genuinely stuck.
The strategy for tackling this one is fairly standard. Start in the corners where multiple theme words tend to intersect—that's where the grid is densest with clues. Don't be shy about using the hints; they're there for a reason. Think about the theme both literally and figuratively: these are real facial expressions, but they also carry emotional weight and meaning. And prioritize finding the spangram early. Once EXPRESSIONS is locked in, the rest of the puzzle becomes significantly easier to navigate.
Today's puzzle is rated a 1 out of 5 for difficulty, which means it's one of the easier ones in the rotation. This is the kind of puzzle that's perfect if you're new to the game or if you just want something manageable before your coffee gets cold. It won't demand hours of your time or leave you frustrated. It's a gentle introduction to how Strands works, or a pleasant warm-up if you're already a regular player.
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So this puzzle is about lip service—but that's usually a phrase that means saying something without meaning it. Is that what we're solving for?
Not quite. The theme is more literal here. It's about the physical expressions that lips make—the actual movements and shapes that show emotion. Smile, frown, sneer. The words themselves are the service the lips provide.
And the spangram is EXPRESSIONS. That seems almost too on-the-nose. Doesn't that give away the whole puzzle immediately?
It can, if you find it early. But the spangram runs vertically across the grid, so you have to actually trace it out letter by letter. Some people spot it right away; others solve most of the theme words first and then notice it's been there the whole time.
Why is this one rated so easy? Is it just because the theme is obvious?
Partly that. The words themselves are common—everyone knows what a smirk is, what a scowl looks like. There's no obscure vocabulary here. And the spangram is a strong hint about what you're looking for. It's designed to be accessible.
If someone's completely stuck, what's the best first move?
Look at the corners. That's where the grid is densest. Find one theme word, and it usually opens up the rest. And don't hesitate to use the hints—they're calibrated to nudge you in the right direction without spoiling anything.
Is there a trick to spotting the spangram before you've solved the whole puzzle?
Not really a trick. Just awareness. As you're filling in letters, keep an eye out for longer words forming vertically or horizontally. Once you see EXPRESSIONS taking shape, everything else clicks into place faster.