If you’re looking for the Connections answer for Tuesday, March 25, 2025, read on—I’ll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solutions to all four categories. Along the way, I’ll explain the meanings of the trickier words and we’ll learn how everything fits together.
Beware, there are spoilers below for March 25, NYT Connections #653! Read on if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today’s Connections game. If you want an easy way to come back to our Connections hints every day, bookmark this page. You can also find our past hints there as well, in case you want to know what you missed in a previous puzzle.
Below, I’ll give you some oblique hints at today’s Connections answers. And farther down the page, I’ll reveal the themes and the answers. Scroll slowly and take just the hints you need!
Hints for the themes in today’s Connections puzzle Here are some spoiler-free hints for the groupings in today’s Connections:
- Yellow category - Same color palette (or lack thereof, perhaps).
- Green category - Same letters.
- Blue category - They held high positions of power, but were often known by these casual monikers.
- Purple category - They’re all part of similar idioms about how much one does or does not understand something, such as instructions or rules.
BEWARE: Spoilers follow for today’s Connections puzzle! We’re about to give away some of the answers. Scroll slowly if you don’t want the whole thing spoiled.
A heads up about the tricky parts If someone tries (and fails) to explain something to you, you might sarcastically say it’s this “as MUD.” A classic OREO consists of two colors. People often call President Abraham Lincoln “Honest ABE.”
What are the categories in today’s Connections?
- Yellow: BLACK-AND-WHITE THINGS
- Green: ANAGRAMS
- Blue: U.S. PRESIDENTIAL NICKNAMES
- Purple: CLEAR AS ___
How I solved today’s Connections After a quick scan, I notice that BALE, ABLE, ABEL, and BELA all use the same four letters, but I’m not confident enough yet to submit that as a guess. I think ABE, DICK, and TEDDY might all be nicknames—presidential nicknames, even. PANDA, CROSSWORD, TUXEDO, and OREO are all black and white in color. That feels like a strong hit.
A BELL, MUD, DAY, and CRYSTAL are all things that are “clear” in idioms: clear as A BELL, clear as MUD, clear as DAY, and clear as CRYSTAL.
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. When I spotted that, I knew I had my connections.
The most important thing to know to win Connections is that the groupings are designed to be tricky. Expect to see overlapping groups. For example, one puzzle included six breakfast foods: BACON, EGG, PANCAKE, OMELET, WAFFLE, and CEREAL. But BACON turned out to be part of a group of painters along with CLOSE, MUNCH, and WHISTLER, and EGG was in a group of things that come by the dozen.
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 on to 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, obviously, to read a few helpful hints–which is why we share these pointers every day. Check back tomorrow for the next puzzle!
