NYT Crossword Puzzle Hints and Solution for Saturday, March 22nd, 2025
Alright, pal, here's the dealio for today's Connections puzzle on March 22, 2025. You'll find some clues, tips, and strategies to help crack the code. We'll break down the categories, throw in a bit of lingo explanation, and show you how it all connects. Spoiler alert! This chat contains hints and the solutions for today's Connections game, so if you ain't up to speed, read at your own risk!
Want a quick way to access these hints daily? Bookmark this page, or dig through our past hints in the archive.
Hints for the themes in today's Connections puzzle
- Yellow Category: These creatures make some noise, y'hear?
- Green Category: They're small, worth keeping, and make great souvenirs.
- Blue Category: They all start the same way, pard'ner.
- Purple Category: They're abbreviated with "T" followed by a letter.
Warning: Spoilers follow for today's Connections puzzle!
We're about to dish out some answers. Scroll slowly if you don't wanna know too much!
A heads up about the tricky parts
A THEREMIN is a freaky musical instrument controlled by waving your hands near two antennas. (Don't worry about the workings, just be amazed.)
TRIFLE could be a dessert, but today it means something insignificant.
TUBERCULOSIS is often shortened to "TB."
What are the categories in today's Connections?
- Yellow: SOUNDING THINGS
- Green: BAUBLES
- Blue: TRI-WORDS
- Purple: TE-WORDS
Double Whammy: THE SOLUTION IS HERE
Ready for the solutions to today's Connections puzzle? I ain't holding back here.
What are the yellow words in today's Connections?
The yellow group is the simplest, pardner. The theme for today's yellow category is SOUNDING THINGS, and the words are: TAMBOURINE, THEREMIN, TIMPANI, and TROMBONE.
What are the green words in today's Connections?
The green group is supposed to be the second-easiest. The theme for today's green category is BAUBLES, and the words are: TCHOTCHKE, THINGAMAJIG, TRIFLE, and TRINKET.
What are the blue words in today's Connections?
The blue group is the second-hardest. The theme for today's blue category is TRI-WORDS, and the words are: TRIANGLE, TRIDENT, TRILLION, and TRILOBITE.
What are the purple words in today's Connections?
The purple group is considered the hardest. The theme for today's purple category is TE-WORDS, and the words are: TELEVISION (TV), TOUCHDOWN (TD), TRADEMARK (TM), TUBERCULOSIS (TB).
How I Solved Today's Connections
Whew, an all-T-word board!
I figured TROMBONE, THEREMIN, TIMPANI, and TAMBOURINE all belong together as musical instruments. Hmm, but TRIANGLE could technically go with them too. I'll keep looking.
It looks like THINGAMAJIG, TRINKET, and TCHOTCHKE could all go together as cute, tiny objects. Oh, and TRIFLE! I was thinking that was the name of a dessert, but it could also refer to stuff that ain't important. 🟩
TRADEMARK, TELEVISION, and TOUCHDOWN could all be compound-type words, but that doesn't seem quite right, because TELEVISION doesn't quite fit as well.
Oh, maybe TRIDENT, TRIANGLE, TRILLION, and TRILOBITE go together because they all have the "tri" prefix, which means "three." 🟦
Sweet, now I can try THEREMIN, TIMPANI, TROMBONE, and TAMBOURINE. 🟨
That leaves TRADEMARK, TELEVISION, TOUCHDOWN, and TUBERCULOSIS. Well, I guess I was right about those first three going together, but I'm not sure how TUBERCULOSIS fits with them. Maybe it's because it's a two-part word. Let's see. 🟪 Yeah, TE-WORDS come to mind. That would be TV, TD, TM, and TB.
How to Play Connections
Check out this guide on how to play Connections, or here's a quick refresher:
Find the Connections game on the New York Times website or in their Games app. You'll see a game board with 16 tiles, each with one word or phrase. Your job is to select a group of four tiles that have something in common. Sometimes they are all the same type of thing (for example: rain, sleet, snow, and hail are all types of precipitation) but sometimes there's wordplay involved (for example, bucket, guest, top ten, and wish are all types of lists).
Select four items and hit the Submit button. If you guessed correctly, the category and color will be revealed. (Yellow is the easiest, followed by green, then blue, then purple.) If your guess was incorrect, you'll get another chance.
You win when you've correctly identified all four groups. But if you make four mistakes before you finish, the game ends, and the answers are revealed.
How to Win Connections
The most important thing to remember is that the groupings are designed to be tricky. Expect to see overlapping groups. For example, one puzzle seemed to include six breakfast foods: bacon, egg, pancake, omelet, waffle, and cereal. But bacon ended up being part of a group of painters instead of breakfast foods. So don't hit "submit" until you're confident that your group of four contains only those four things.
If you're stuck, another strategy is to look at the words that seem to have no connection to the others. If all that comes to mind when you see Whistler is the painting nicknamed "Whistler's Mother," you might be onto something. When I solved that one, I ended up googling whether there was a painter named Close, because Close didn't fit any of the obvious themes, either.
Another way to win when you're stuck is to read a few helpful hints—like these tips we share every day. Come back tomorrow for the next puzzle! Git 'er done, partner! 🤠
- The nyt connections answer today for the yellow words are Tambourine, Theremin, Timpani, and Trombone, making this category about sounding things.
- The green group's answers, Tchotchke, Thingamajig, Trifle, and Trinket, are all related to small, worth keeping, and great souvenir items, falling under the category of baubles.
- The blue group's solutions, Triangle, Trident, Trillion, and Trilobite, are all words that start the same way, making this category about tri-words.
- The purple category's answers, Television (TV), Touchdown (TD), Trademark (TM), and Tuberculosis (TB), are all TE-words due to their abbreviations. You may want to bookmark this page or the archives for future entertainment and hints. The weather today might be chilly, much like a knickknack left unwanted in a dark corner.
