NYT Connections Hints September 21, 2025: Check Clues and Answers to Solve Today’s Puzzle Game

NYT Connections is an intelligent and fun puzzle game that challenges players to group 12 sets of words into categories. Not just knowledge, it requires lateral thinking, pattern recognition, and a discerning eye for relationships that don't reveal themselves at first glance. Unlike standard crossword puzzles, Connections merges logic and creativity, bringing a perfect balance for players who enjoy word games AND logical thinking. With a new puzzle daily, it allows players to exercise their brains and experience a sense of satisfaction when they see all the hidden groups.

The puzzle for September 21, 2025, kept solvers alert with a varied word list grouped in multiple sharp ways. Some groups made more sense than others for players and required careful thought and patience or maybe thinking outside the box. Fans of the game found themselves back to noticing subtle patterns, shared traits of words, or playful things that New York Times designers are known for. As usual, the daily challenge facilitated rapid recognition, but also contemplation as a proper strategic mental workout for solvable players for players at any speed.

Check Out: NYT Connections Hints September 19, 2025: Check Clues and Answers to Solve Today’s Puzzle Game

Hints for NYT Connections September 21, 2025  

The NYT Connections puzzle (#833) had a rewarding assortment of both simpler wins and tougher connections to find. The connections between words and cultural references were pleasurable, but not terrible. If you were able to solve all four groups of words - well done! If you didn't,  that is okay.

Yellow Group Hint: Movements your fingers make on the glass to zoom, move, or select

Green Group Hint: Places to park yourself while enjoying your meal.

Blue Group Hint: Ways to do absolutely nothing and enjoy it

Purple Group Hint: Drop the first letter, and you’ll still get the veggie.

Stepping back will often expose the clever logic that provided the unifying. Let’s take a moment to go through the groups together, and explore the connections that tie these words together so nicely.

NYT Connections Answers for September 21, 2025 (Sunday)

The NYT Connections puzzle (#833) included a fun mix of easier wins and more difficult links. The combination of cultural references and wordplay was fun, but not too much. If you solved all four groups, congratulations! If not, don't fret, as any connection attempted strengthens your ability to see patterns. So keep playing, have fun, and the more you play, the sharper you'll get!

YELLOW: TOUCHSCREEN GESTURES (PINCH, SCROLL, SWIPE, TAP)

GREEN: RESTAURANT SEATING OPTIONS (BAR, BOOTH, COUNTER, TABLE)

BLUE: RELAX (CHILL, LOAF, LOUNGE, VEG)

PURPLE: VEGETABLES WITH FIRST LETTER REMOVED (ALE, EEK, HIVE, QUASH)

It’s perfectly fine if you don’t complete a Connections puzzle, or if you need to set it aside before reaching the solution.

What is the NYT Connections Game?

The New York Times Connections puzzle has become an essential part of the daily puzzle journey for many word game enthusiasts. Instead of filling in the crossword grid, this puzzle's challenge is arranging the patterns from various words (letters). The puzzle challenges its players to engage in pattern recognition, creative thinking, and sometimes clever cultural references. 

There is a color associated with each of the four solutions; the green color group is typically the easiest, then yellow is moderately difficult, followed by blue, and purple is typically the most difficult. What makes Connections so addictive is the combination of logic and creativity as a puzzle experience; initially the puzzle can seem relatively simple, but the further you go, you have more words, and will want to play again the next day for a different puzzle experience.

How to Play the NYT Connections Puzzle

At first, NYT Connections presents itself as just another simple word game, and because of its decidedly clean interface, it can fool you into thinking it's simply a word game. There are some obvious definitional or relationship associations among some of the groups, there are also associations based on pop-cultural references, wordplay, and subtle thematic or semantic relationships that are not obvious at first glance. 

One hundred percent of the time, for me, the exploration component is the most engaging part of Connections. You can mix things up, explore, and then some irresponsible exploration when uncovering relationships between words, thus each round becomes less about the urgency of speed and more about how the words relate to each other. The game is fun, but the important part of the game is to engage and workout your befuddled brain simulating memory and building connections to your memory while also, at the third-level, as an engaged, entertained and valued experience you come back and play again

Best Strategies to Solve NYT Connections Puzzles

A useful approach when playing the NYT Connections puzzle is to complete the easy sets first, usually one of the yellow or green groups, as it gives you some "bones" for the other more difficult categories (makes you space on the board), and usually helps provide some clues to the more difficult connections. If you feel stuck after addressing the easy groups, you can consider the positioning of the words a second time. 

Move them around, say them out loud, take a few minutes. Sometimes, a little break or different perspective can show you the links that you weren't able to make previously. Also, groups don't always connect through definitions--they may be cultural references, clever wordplay, or just logical connections, too. While you are placing the words into groups, be open and explore and rethink your layout.

Other NYT Games to Explore

If NYT Connections has become your new favorite, check out other daily brain teasers and games from The New York Times. 

Wordle: Guess a five-letter word in six attempts. 

Spelling Bee: Craft as many words as possible from a set of seven letters.

Mini Crossword: For a quick wordplay, perfect for a coffee break.

That's all for today's NYT Connections puzzle! Be sure to come back tomorrow for NYT Connections Hints and Answers for September 22, 2025.