A little help. Your own aha.

Connections #684
hints & answers for April 25, 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 25, 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 B, C, M and W. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

BUBBLEGUM belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

GUM FLAVORS

Reveal all four words
  • BUBBLEGUM
  • CINNAMON
  • MENTHOL
  • WINTERGREEN

Green group

A little trickier

2/4
First-letter clue

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

Show one word

CATALYST belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

STARTING POINT

Reveal all four words
  • CATALYST
  • LAUNCHPAD
  • SPARK
  • SPRINGBOARD

Blue group

More challenging

3/4
First-letter clue

Look for four entries beginning with A, S, U and W. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

AUTUMN LEAVES belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK SONGS

Reveal all four words
  • AUTUMN LEAVES
  • SUMMERTIME
  • UNFORGETTABLE
  • WITCHCRAFT

Purple group

Wordplay & surprises

4/4
Wordplay hint

Try adding the same ending to each entry.

Show one word

FALLOPIAN belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

___ TUBE

Reveal all four words
  • FALLOPIAN
  • INNER
  • TEST
  • VACUUM

Each entry comes before "TUBE" to form a word, expression or name: FALLOPIAN → FALLOPIAN TUBE; INNER → INNER TUBE; TEST → TEST TUBE; VACUUM → VACUUM TUBE.

Show categories only
  • Yellow: GUM FLAVORS
  • Green: STARTING POINT
  • Blue: GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK SONGS
  • Purple: ___ TUBE

Ready for the full solution?

All four categories and their words, together.

Reveal all four answers

Yellow

GUM FLAVORS

BUBBLEGUM · CINNAMON · MENTHOL · WINTERGREEN

Green

STARTING POINT

CATALYST · LAUNCHPAD · SPARK · SPRINGBOARD

Blue

GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK SONGS

AUTUMN LEAVES · SUMMERTIME · UNFORGETTABLE · WITCHCRAFT

Purple

___ TUBE

FALLOPIAN · INNER · TEST · VACUUM

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.