Today’s Connections Hints & Answers For March 25, 2025 (Puzzle #653)

If you are looking for today’s Connections puzzle to be a little clearer than it otherwise looks, you can use a few tips to clear things up a little. Today’s puzzle has an annoying combination of very short words, which tend to make things difficult to solve. However, I found a few patterns that will help you figure out what’s going on with this one, as there are some ways you can get through it without too much trouble.

If you are looking for a different puzzle to satisfy your fancy, the NYT’s Strands puzzle is a fun one to add in to your daily gaming time. It’s essentially a word search, but the trick is that you don’t know what words you are searching for. You can slowly uncover them using hints as you make guesses, and eventually, you will be able to solve the puzzle. If you can, search for the golden ticket word to give you a big hint as to what the theme of the puzzle is.

Today’s Connections Category Hints

MARCH 25 #653

If you are looking for a few hints to help you out of this one, you are in the right place. There is one category that stands out more than the others, leaving you with three more difficult categories to unwind. Look for similarities but also read the words closely because there is a big hint that might change things for you. Also, one of the categories seems very specific, but the way to unravel it is easier than the category name would suggest.

• One category is about things that have a similar color pattern
• One category is about things that are incredibly close to each other, but something about them is scrambled
• One category is about four abbreviations that are used in place of a category of people’s monikers
• One category is about four words that come after the same phrase – that phrase is something you might often use when something is either very confusing or very simple

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If you are still looking for some big clues, check out the category names below. Otherwise, look at the spoilers to figure out what is going on.

	BLACK-AND-WHITE THINGS
	ANAGRAMS
	U.S. PRESIDENTIAL NICKNAMES
	CLEAR AS ___

Today’s Connections Answers

MARCH 25 #653

Yellow Answers: Revealed & Explained

This one felt pretty easy and stood out among the other mostly short words in the puzzle. I saw PANDA and OREO nearly right away, so after that it was just a matter of time. I didn’t see anything else that would make me question my thinking for this category, nor any other words that I associate with these two colors. I was a little worried that CROSSWORD was wrong, although I’m not sure why, but I was relieved that this category was crossed off, and I could try getting through the rest.

Green Answers: Revealed & Explained

This was probably the most frustrating category and the one that is likely to trip the most people up, depending on how much you look out for anagrams. I knew something was going on, but my first guess had ABE and A BELL instead. Once I figured out the next category, I came back here and was able to fly under the radar and get this one at the last moment. I think you could get this one if you notice that each of these are only 4 letters, but there is a better hint in the next category.

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Blue Answers: Revealed & Explained

I think this is where the biggest hint is, and it mostly rests on DICK and TEDDY. Both of these are fairly popular nicknames, or at least ones that were used for a long time even if they aren’t as popular now. Knowing that one or both of these is a nickname will then allow you to look at the other words as well. ABE is the next one that popped to mind, and CAL is also a male-coded nickname. BELA is the potential trick here, but I don’t think it works as well as the others.

Purple Answers: Revealed & Explained

This one might actually be more possible to guess earlier because I think you could get there with this one. CRYSTAL, DAY, and MUD are fairly commonly used with this phrase, but A BELL might be a little harder. I think the “A” can be a pretty big clue, if you pay attention to the structure rather than the letters, since they match with the other words.

Other Games Like Connections

Check out one of the games in the box below to get your daily puzzle itch scratched.

Released

June 12, 2023

Developer(s)

The New York Times Company

Publisher(s)

The New York Times Company

ESRB

e

Platform(s)

Web Browser, Mobile