A little help. Your own aha.

Connections #697
hints & answers for May 8, 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 May 8, 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, C, P and W. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

AUTHOR belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

COMMIT TO PAPER

Reveal all four words
  • AUTHOR
  • COMPOSE
  • PEN
  • WRITE

Green group

A little trickier

2/4
First-letter clue

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

Show one word

CUP belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

NEEDS FOR PLAYING YAHTZEE

Reveal all four words
  • CUP
  • DICE
  • PENCIL
  • SCORECARD

Blue group

More challenging

3/4
First-letter clue

Look for four entries beginning with B, J, O and W. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

BOND belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

HEROES OF ACTION MOVIE FRANCHISES

Reveal all four words
  • BOND
  • JONES
  • OCEAN
  • WICK

Purple group

Wordplay & surprises

4/4
Wordplay hint

Try adding the same ending to each entry.

Show one word

CANDLE belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

___STICK

Reveal all four words
  • CANDLE
  • CHOP
  • JOY
  • YARD

Each entry comes before "STICK" to form a word, expression or name: CANDLE → CANDLE STICK; CHOP → CHOP STICK; JOY → JOY STICK; YARD → YARD STICK.

Show categories only
  • Yellow: COMMIT TO PAPER
  • Green: NEEDS FOR PLAYING YAHTZEE
  • Blue: HEROES OF ACTION MOVIE FRANCHISES
  • Purple: ___STICK

Ready for the full solution?

All four categories and their words, together.

Reveal all four answers

Yellow

COMMIT TO PAPER

AUTHOR · COMPOSE · PEN · WRITE

Green

NEEDS FOR PLAYING YAHTZEE

CUP · DICE · PENCIL · SCORECARD

Blue

HEROES OF ACTION MOVIE FRANCHISES

BOND · JONES · OCEAN · WICK

Purple

___STICK

CANDLE · CHOP · JOY · YARD

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.