NYT Connections hints and answers today, May 25, 2026

The New York Times continues to grow the popularity of its daily puzzle lineup with The New York Times Connections, a word game that challenges players to uncover hidden links between seemingly unrelated words. The May 25 puzzle (#1079) delivers another entertaining mix of straightforward categories, modern abbreviations and tricky wordplay. Today’s puzzle includes categories related to promotional items, tiny amounts, texting shorthand and a Purple category built around words commonly associated with the eye. This guide includes spoiler-free hints, the complete answers and a quick explanation of how the puzzle works.

What is NYT’s ‘Connections’ game

Connections is a daily word puzzle from The New York Times that asks players to group related words together. The game uses four colour-coded difficulty levels — Yellow, Green, Blue and Purple — with Yellow generally being the easiest and Purple often involving more abstract or playful logic.

Players receive 16 words and must organise them into four groups of four. Each group shares a hidden connection that may involve categories, meanings, phrases, themes or wordplay.

NYT Connections hints for today

• Yellow: Things often given away at events or promotions
• Green: A very tiny amount of something
• Blue: Common abbreviations used in texting
• Purple: Words that can follow “eye”

NYT Connections answers for May 25, 2026

Here are the correct groupings for today’s puzzle:

• Yellow – PROMOTIONAL GIVEAWAYS: CAP, PIN, SHIRT, STICKER
• Green – TINY AMOUNTS: JOT, SCRAP, SHRED, WHIT
• Blue – TEXTING ABBREVIATIONS: ATM, CYA, LOL, TIA
• Purple – EYE ___: BALL, BROW, LASH, LID

How to play NYT Connections

The puzzle presents 16 words arranged in a grid, and your goal is to organise them into four groups of four words that share a hidden connection. A new Connections puzzle is released daily through The New York Times Games and the NYT mobile app. Players should carefully scan all 16 words and look for the most obvious links first, as rearranging the board can often reveal hidden patterns and reduce confusion. Once you identify a possible
category, select the four related words and submit them as a group. Correct answers are automatically locked into place. Since players only have a limited number of incorrect guesses before the game ends, strategic thinking and elimination become especially important for solving the tougher categories.

Other NYT games to explore

If you enjoy Connections, The New York Times also offers several other popular daily puzzle games:
Wordle: Guess a five-letter word in six attempts
Spelling Bee: Create as many words as possible using a specific set of letters
The Mini Crossword: A short daily crossword challenge
Strands: A word-search-inspired puzzle built around hidden themes