NYT Connections Companion (#1,079) May 25, 2026

Almost done with your morning coffee, but can’t find a breakthrough in today’s Connections puzzle? You’ve landed on the right page. We’ll get you started with some spoiler-free hints that’ll get you closer to the answers. Then, we’ll give you one word from each category, followed by the list of themes. Finally, you can have the answers. Here are all the hints, clues, and answers to today’s NYT Connections (#1,079, May 25, 2026).

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What is Connections?

Connections is one of the most popular online word games from the New York Times, closely trailing behind Wordle. The rules of the game are simple. You are presenting with a 4×4 grid comprising 16 words. Each grid hides 4 groups consisting of 4 words with a common connection. The difficulty range of these groups varies from Yellow (Easy) to Purple (Hard). You get 4 attempts to solve the puzzle. You can play Connections in the NYT Games app or on the NYT Website.

Some tips to solve Connections

Look for the obvious patterns: Not every category in the puzzle is confusing. The Yellow and Green category words are relatively easy to spot. However, if something seems too obvious, it could be a red herring. Typically, the first two categories comprise verbs and adjectives. The misdirects are often nouns.

Double-check your submissions: ‘Do not overthink’ is usually a good tip for solving most puzzles, but it doesn’t really apply to Connections. Before submitting a set of words, you should always check whether they fit somewhere else too.

Hit a dead end? Use the shuffle button: The shuffle button at the bottom of the grid exists for a reason. Placing the words in different positions can spark new connections. Think of it as a mental refresh. New patterns will emerge, and you may be able to find a breakthrough.

Tackle the Purple category with extra caution: The Connections team is known to serve up the toughest and most unexpected words for the Purple category. Here are some of the common tropes that you should look out for:

• Homophones (For example: ‘Where’, ‘Wear’, ‘Ware’, and ‘Weir’)
• Words within words (For example: ‘Slip’, ‘Hear’, ‘Keyes’, and ‘Undiagnosed’ could be ‘Words containing parts of the face’)
• Words minus a letter (For example: ‘Anther’, ‘Easel’, ‘Hark’, and ‘Lama’ could be ‘Animals minus starting letter’)
• Words preceded or followed by another word (For example: ‘Face’, ‘Sports’, ‘Note’, and ‘Year’ could be ‘____ Book’)

Here’s your grid for today

• BROW
• CAP
• LID
• CYA
• WHIT
• ATM
• PIN
• JOT
• LASH
• LOL
• SCRAP
• SHIRT
• STICKER
• BALL
• TIA
• SHRED

Hints for NYT Connections (#1,079) May 25, 2026

Let’s get you started with some general, spoiler-free hints.

• 🟡Yellow Group: Getting the word around using one of these.
• 🟢Green Group: Small quantity.
• 🔵Blue Group: What you might say while texting.
• 🟣Purple Group: Preceded by a common word.

One Word Per Category (Contains Spoilers)

Can’t seem to find an in? We’ll give you one word from each category.

• 🟡Yellow Group: Cap.
• 🟢Green Group: Jot.
• 🔵Blue Group: ATM.
• 🟣Purple Group: Ball.

List of Themes (Major Spoilers)

Maybe getting to know the common themes among the words will help you spot them faster. Here are all the categories for today.

• 🟡Yellow Group: Common Promo Items.
• 🟢Green Group: Tiny Bit.
• 🔵Blue Group: Texting Abbreviations.
• 🟣Purple Group: Eye ___.

Answers to NYT Connections (#1,079) Today (May 25, 2026)

Close to waving the white flag? Fine, we’ll give you the answers.

• 🟡Yellow Group: Cap, Pin, Shirt, Sticker. (Common Promo Items)

These are the items one might use to promote or market their business or event. ‘PIN’ was the obvious misdirect as it could have been confused with other abbreviations in the grid.

• 🟢Green Group: Jot, Scrap, Shred, Whit. (Tiny Bit)

These words describe a small piece of something. 

• 🔵Blue Group: ATM, CYA, LOL, TIA. (Texting Abbreviations)

The Blue category was the easiest one to solve today. If you didn’t get it, ATM stands for ‘At This Moment’, CYA for ‘See Ya’, LOL for ‘Laugh Out Loud’, and TIA for ‘Thanks In Advance’.

• 🟣Purple Group: Ball, Brow, Lash Lid. (Eye ___)

One of the easiest Purple categories we’ve seen in Connections. We wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of people cracked this category first.

Answers to yesterday’s puzzle  (#1,078, May 24, 2026)

• 🟡Yellow Group: Coop, Pen, Shed, Stable. (Farm Fixtures)
• 🟢Green Group: March, Picket, Rally, Strike. (Labor Protest Actions)
• 🔵Blue Group: Drum, Mask, Rattle, Staff. (Objects Used In A Ritual Performance)
• 🟣Purple Group: Herb, Hiss, Itsy, Mya. (Possessive Adjectives Plus A Letter)

Answers to NYT Connections #1,077 (May 23, 2026)

• 🟡Yellow Group: Beehive, Bouffant, Chignon, Pompadour. (Hairdos)
• 🟢Green Group: First, Preferably, Rather, Sooner. (More Readily)
• 🔵Blue Group: Daredevil, Hawkeye, Nightcrawler, Wolverine. (Marvel Characters)
• 🟣Purple Group: Empire, Force, Last, Phantom. (Words After ‘The’ In ‘Star Wars’ Movie Titles)

Answers to NYT Connections #1,076 (May 22, 2026)

• 🟡Yellow Group: Check In, Follow Up, Reconnect, Touch Base. (Reach Back Out)
• 🟢Green Group: Convention, Custom, Social Norm, Unwritten Rule. (The Way Things Are Done)
• 🔵Blue Group: Assembly Line, Baggage Claim, Checkout Lane, Revolving Sushi Bar. (Places With Conveyor Belts)
• 🟣Purple Group: Carry-On, El Nino, Loosey-Goosey, Tailor-Made (Starting With Name Homophones)

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How did other solvers do today?

NYT’s early testers rated today’s Connection puzzle 3 out of 5. This puts it in the hard difficulty level. Let us know how you fared in the comments!