A little help. Your own aha.

Connections #662
hints & answers for April 3, 2025

Keep the satisfaction of the solve. Get a nudge for one group, reveal a category, or check the answers at your own pace.

This reference always shows April 3, 2025. It is released in at least one timezone; every answer stays closed until you reveal it.

Which group has you stuck?

Pick a colour. Reveal one step at a time.

Yellow group

Straightforward

1/4
First-letter clue

Look for four entries beginning with A, B, N and P. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

ANNOUNCEMENT belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

PRINTED NOTIFICATION

Reveal all four words
  • ANNOUNCEMENT
  • BULLETIN
  • NOTICE
  • POSTER

Green group

A little trickier

2/4
First-letter clue

Look for four entries beginning with C, R, S and S. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

CONVEYOR BELT belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

SEEN AT A GROCERY CHECKOUT COUNTER

Reveal all four words
  • CONVEYOR BELT
  • REGISTER
  • SCALE
  • SCANNER

Blue group

More challenging

3/4
First-letter clue

Look for four entries beginning with B, F, K and S. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

BROWSER belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

THINGS WITH TABS

Reveal all four words
  • BROWSER
  • FOLDER
  • KEYBOARD
  • SODA CAN

Purple group

Wordplay & surprises

4/4
Wordplay hint

Try putting the same beginning before each entry.

Show one word

BEACH belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

PALM ___

Reveal all four words
  • BEACH
  • READER
  • SUNDAY
  • TREE

Each entry comes after "PALM" to form a word, expression or name: BEACH → PALM BEACH; READER → PALM READER; SUNDAY → PALM SUNDAY; TREE → PALM TREE.

Show categories only
  • Yellow: PRINTED NOTIFICATION
  • Green: SEEN AT A GROCERY CHECKOUT COUNTER
  • Blue: THINGS WITH TABS
  • Purple: PALM ___

Ready for the full solution?

All four categories and their words, together.

Reveal all four answers

Yellow

PRINTED NOTIFICATION

ANNOUNCEMENT · BULLETIN · NOTICE · POSTER

Green

SEEN AT A GROCERY CHECKOUT COUNTER

CONVEYOR BELT · REGISTER · SCALE · SCANNER

Blue

THINGS WITH TABS

BROWSER · FOLDER · KEYBOARD · SODA CAN

Purple

PALM ___

BEACH · READER · SUNDAY · TREE

This puzzle’s recorded solution

The date and puzzle number identify this exact board. Use the individual group controls to compare its recorded categories and words, then return to the archive to find another puzzle.

About the answers and hints

Categories and answers follow the recorded NYT puzzle. Our hints are independent: some are original category clues, while others give the first letters of the four words. Each hint is labelled so you can choose how much help to take.

Group colours follow the puzzle’s yellow, green, blue and purple order, from the most straightforward to the trickiest. Your own experience may differ. The reference tiles may appear in a different order from your game. Picture puzzles have separately hidden descriptions, since a description can give away the wordplay.

The daily page starts with the UTC puzzle date and, with JavaScript enabled, checks the puzzle for your local time zone. Every reveal starts closed when the date changes. Play Connections at The New York Times or contact us about a correction.