Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.
Today’s NYT Connections puzzle has a tough purple category once again. But the yellow group is very timely, and pretty easy. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.
The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.
Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time
Hints for today’s Connections groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Here comes 2026!
Green group hint: Where is it?
Blue group hint: Pennsylvania city.
Purple group hint: Waves.
Answers for today’s Connections groups
Yellow group: Happy New Year!
Green group: Places where things disappear.
Blue group: Associated with Philadelphia.
Purple group: Starting with bodies of water.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections answers?
The completed NYT Connections puzzle for Dec. 31, 2025.
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is Happy New Year! The four answers are ball drop, champagne flute, fireworks and noisemaker.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is places where things disappear. The four answers are Bermuda Triangle, black hole, couch cushions and dryer.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is associated with Philadelphia. The four answers are brotherly love, cheesesteak, Liberty Bell and Rocky.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is starting with bodies of water. The four answers are bay leaf, channel surf, sea bass and sound barrier.
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Quick tips for Connections
#1: Say the clue words out loud, pausing before and after each. That helps you hear the words in the context of a phrase. The Connections editors love to group words together that are used in similar phrasing, like ____ Up.
#2: Don’t go for the obvious grouping. These editors are smart. Once, they offered SPONGE, BOB, SQUARE and PANTS in the same puzzle. None of those words were in the same category. If you like, hit the “shuffle” button to give yourself a different perspective on the words.
#3: Break down any compound words and look for similarities. “Rushmore” was once in a puzzle where the connection was that each word started with the name of a rock band.
