Cracking Today’s NYT Connections: The Clever Word Game Everyone’s Talking About
If you’ve been keeping up with daily brain teasers, you probably know that The New York Times’ Connections puzzle has become a daily obsession for many word lovers. Each day, players are given sixteen seemingly random words and must sort them into four groups of four based on a shared theme. It sounds easy—but as today’s puzzle for November 7, 2025 (#880) showed, it can get surprisingly tricky.
Today’s puzzle definitely kept players on their toes. According to CNET’s Gael Cooper, two of the categories actually matched the color of their assigned groups—a rare and amusing coincidence that might’ve helped some sharp-eyed solvers. But for many, it was a game of pattern spotting, guessing, and the occasional lucky break.
For anyone scratching their heads this morning, here’s how the puzzle broke down. The yellow group was all about textile patterns , featuring words like animal print , herringbone , houndstooth , and polka dot . So if you were thinking of fashion or fabric design, you were on the right track.
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Next came the green group , which was a delicious one: green condiments . This included chimichurri , pesto , relish , and salsa verde . If you’re a foodie, this might’ve been your easiest win of the day.
Then there was the blue group , themed around things with holes in the middle . That’s where bagel , hula hoop , inner tube , and washer came in—a mix that made players visualize everything from breakfast food to summer pool toys.
Finally, the purple group tied it all together with a theme that was quite literal: things that are purple . The answers were Barney the Dinosaur , eggplant , People Eater , and swing state . Yes, that last one might’ve made you pause—but in U.S. politics, “purple” represents the mix of red and blue, so it cleverly fits the category.
For those who enjoy keeping track of their progress, The Times has even launched a Connections Bot , similar to the one for Wordle. After finishing the game, players can get a numeric score, analyze their answers, and monitor their streaks—perfect for anyone who loves to measure improvement or boast a little about their puzzle prowess.
So, whether you cracked it early or needed a few retries, today’s Connections puzzle was a fun mix of creativity, cultural nods, and clever wordplay. If you missed it, don’t worry—tomorrow’s challenge (#881) is already waiting to test your word associations once again.
One thing’s for sure: this game has become more than a pastime. It’s now part of the daily ritual for thousands who love to give their brains a playful workout before the day begins.
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