Here are the Letter Boxed December 21, 2025 Answers from New York Times Games. Our solutions and answers are 100% valid and accurate. We suggest trying to solve the game on your own before using the help of our website.
Sides of this Letter Box are:
RSNZUVGHTIDO
The answers are:
SHVITZINGGOURD
GROUNDS SHVITZ
After attempts wtih OUTDRIVING
This was my solution as well. Wasn’t much that could be done with the -izing. Done before the end of the commute this morning so, that’s a nice start to the day.
ORDUROUS-SHVITZING
VIRTUIZING-GROUNDHOGS
*NONDRUGS-SHVITZ
*NONDRUGS good in Wiktionary
*DUROUS-SHVITZING
*DUROUS good in OED
OA
Groundhogs – shvitz
Can’t run away from shvitz
It’s just been a month since the last OA containing a Yiddish word. I wonder why Sam is so obsessed with Yiddish solutions? It’s really annoying- can’t we use simpler words to create these solutions? Looks like I have to learn the whole Yiddish word list now!
Played around with VIGOROUS, VIGORISH, UNVIRTUOUS, SHOUTING, GROUNDNUTS, GROUNDHOGS, SURVIVING, STRIVING, STRONGISH, INVITRO, HORIZON, RHINOS and RHINITIS
Yeah, they annoy me too. English isn’t my first language I’ve never heard of these.
Shvitzing Grounds
Grounds Shvitzing
IMO shvitzing has not really been adopted into English.
I asked AI why the NYT Games allow so many Yiddish words when it is considered a foreign language, but does not accept many common English words. It told me that “Yinglish” is acceptable. Lol.
It added:
“In 2025, the word shvitz (and its common variant schvitz) is recognized by Merriam-Webster as a naturalized English word.”
But oddly enough neither is in my MW Scrabble Dictionary.
More AI hallucinating, I’m afraid. I checked merriam-webster.com to see if “shvitz” was in there, and it wasn’t. (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shvitz) But not everything in Letter Boxed is in Webster’s online. A few years ago I was furious when one of the words was RAGEQUIT, which also wasn’t in Webster’s. (But, uh, it appears it is *now*: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ragequit) I had to go to Urban Dictionary to find a definition.
Agree
Very much agree.
Agree, knew it would probably be Yiddish and only got the OA after seeing SCHVITZ on a word-check site.
Industrous shvitzing
SHVITZING GROUND
after failing to match HORIZONINGS*
*The Yale Literary Magazine, 1892.
Also GOHONZON**
** Japanese Buddhist scroll
I am annoyed too. I know some Yiddish words but have never even heard of schvitzing.
OA as well. I have a limited Yiddish vocabulary and I can only guess that the appeal is based on the number of words with unusual consonant combinations.
GROUNDNUTS SHVITZ, and though I grew up on the East Coast AND taught at Hebrew Academy, it annoys the hell out of me that there are puzzles that can ONLY be solved with Yiddish words. Have them as one option, sure, but there need to be others.
And I say this as a desi who would be cross if I had to solve a UK puzzle using puk(k)a or dekho, both words of South Asian origin that I grew up with. It makes an unfair assumption about what’s used/not used/allowed. Sam, do the work. No Letterboxed that has a single solution is a good one.
Just for fun:
HOUVI* INDUSTRIZING**
*Glossaire du Vendômois
By Paul Martellière · 1893 “overcooked”
“Dried out”
**OCR error in GoogleBooks
NVM. Sorry my typo as well. Too many popup ads. Can’t edit. Was thinking HOVI. But I see now HOUVI does not work.
HOVIS is a fun word. Cockney slang.
Groundhogs-Shvitz
Virtuizing — Groundhogs. Not the most efficient, but it worked
Virtuizing – Groundhogs
OA after failing with rhinovirus, shvitzing which would have been great. BTW Shvitzing is a terrific word. Well worth learning. As with chutzpah and shmuck and others, I bet a very large percentage of New Yorkers know and use these Yiddish words in everyday speech. This is the New York Times after all.
Yes, it is indeed the ‘New York Times’, but it makes a claim to being a global newspaper, so it needs to do better.
Agreed they are great words, but they shouldn’t be the only out.
Good points. The NYT crossword often features French words, but they are words that even a non-French-speaking person (like me!) should know or learn. I view as expanding my horizons 😊
Also, I always enjoy reading your comments.
Oh, come on.
After 15 minutes, I KNEW it was going to be something Yiddish! and I think I misspelled shvitzing . Much later came up with virtuizing groundhogs
GROUNDS—SHVITZ
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GOURDS ⇄ SHVITZING
SHVITZING ⇆ GOURDS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GROUNDHOGS ⇄ SHVITZING
SHVITZING ⇆ GROUNDHOGS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OUTRUSHING—GVOZDʷ
DZHO—OUTSURVIVINGʷ
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
VITROSINʷ—NUDZHING°
DZHIGITʷ—TUNGROVIRUSʷ
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
° OED, ʷ Wiktionary
dzhigit : A skilled horseman in the Caucasus and Central Asia.
Groundhogs Shvitz