NYT Connections December 15, 2025 Hints and Answers: Everything You Need to Solve Today’s Puzzle

For fans of The New York Times’ popular word game Connections, the December 15, 2025 edition brings Puzzle #918, challenging players with a fresh grid of 16 words to decode. The goal remains the same—spot the hidden links between words and sort them into four correct groups.

Whether you’re aiming to maintain a winning streak or simply need a nudge in the right direction, here’s a complete guide with helpful hints and the full answers for today’s NYT Connections puzzle.

What Is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is a daily word puzzle from The New York Times that tests players’ pattern recognition and reasoning skills. Each puzzle presents 16 words that must be divided into four groups of four, with each group sharing a common theme or connection.

How the Game Works

The Grid: A 4×4 grid featuring 16 seemingly unrelated words

The Objective: Identify four sets of four words that share a hidden link

Categories: Connections can be based on meanings, phrases, word patterns or clever wordplay

Each group is colour-coded by difficulty:

Yellow: Easiest

Green: Medium

Blue: Hard

Purple: Trickiest (often involves abstract or clever associations)

How to Play NYT Connections

• Review the grid of 16 words carefully.
• Select four words you believe belong together.
• Click “Submit” to check your guess.
• A correct match clears the words and reveals the category colour.
• An incorrect guess counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes.
• Solve all four groups to complete the puzzle.

NYT Connections Answers for December 15, 2025 (Puzzle #918)

Categories

• Yellow: Tournament Rounds
• Green: Huge
• Blue: Shabby Places
• Purple: “C” Meanings (things the letter C can stand for)

Groups and Words

Tournament Rounds:

Final, Qualifier, Quarter, Semi

Huge:

Bumper, Giant, Monster, Titanic

Shabby Places:

Dive, Dump, Hole, Joint

“C” Meanings:

Celsius, Clamp, Copyright, Speed of Light

Puzzle Insight

This puzzle was designed to trip players up with overlapping ideas—especially words like Quarter and Semi, which can feel ambiguous at first glance. The purple category, involving multiple meanings of the letter “C,” added an extra layer of challenge.

If you struggled today, don’t worry—Connections is all about learning to spot patterns over time. Check back tomorrow for a brand-new puzzle and more hints and solutions.