NYT Connections Hints and Answers for December 8, 2025, #912

Happy Monday, fellow puzzlers! As the week kicks off, I had a quirky realization this morning while savoring my first cup of coffee. It struck me how our brains love to categorize things, like sorting puzzle pieces into color tiers. It's like a mental game of Tetris, fitting ideas together to create a complete picture.

Speaking of puzzles, today's "Connections" challenge is a delightful mix of yellow, green, blue, and purple clues, ready to test your knack for spotting patterns and making connections. Remember to scan for loose synonyms and watch out for those sneaky cross-category decoys that can throw you off track.

So, are you ready to exercise those mental muscles and dive into today's enigma? Don't be shy to seek hints or share your own strategies in the comments below. Let's unravel this puzzle together and bask in the satisfaction of cracking the code!

How to Play NYT Connections

Overview

Connections is a daily word puzzle game from The New York Times. The goal is to find groups of four words that share something in common. You’re presented with 16 words arranged in a 4×4 grid, and you must identify four groups of four related words.

Basic Rules

• You have 16 words total, arranged in a 4×4 grid
• There are exactly 4 groups of 4 related words each
• Each word belongs to exactly one group
• You must find all four groups to complete the puzzle
• You have 4 mistakes allowed before the game ends

How to Play

• Look at all 16 words and try to identify patterns or connections
• Select 4 words you think belong together by clicking/tapping them
• Click “Submit” to check if your group is correct
• If correct, those 4 words will be removed and grouped together
• If incorrect, you lose one of your 4 allowed mistakes
• Continue until you find all 4 groups or run out of mistakes

Difficulty Levels

The four groups are color-coded by difficulty:

• 🟨 YELLOW: Easiest – usually straightforward categories
• 🟩 GREEN: Easy-Medium – slightly more complex connections
• 🟦 BLUE: Medium-Hard – trickier associations or wordplay
• 🟪 PURPLE: Hardest – often involves puns, multiple meanings, or very subtle connections

Strategy Tips

• Start with the most obvious connections first
• Be careful of red herrings – words that seem to fit multiple categories
• If you’re unsure, try to eliminate what doesn’t belong first
• The purple group often involves wordplay, homophones, or very creative connections
• Don’t guess randomly – you only have 4 mistakes

Scoring

• Complete the puzzle to see your results
• Mistakes are tracked but don’t affect your final score
• Share your results with friends using the share button
• Results show how many mistakes you made for each group