New York Times Connections Hints and Answers for #653 March…

Connections is back with another mind-bending puzzle that can have you scratching your head. In order to get all the words into the right groupings, you will need to think on your toes and really understand each of the words that have been presented.

If you already know how to play Connections and are looking for help with this puzzle, you can find it below. Inside this article will be a variety of little hints, big spoilers, the answer, and a whole lot more to help you on your journey to a win.

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By Diana Croce

Words in the NYT Connections Puzzle #653 for March 25, 2025

NYT-New-York-Times-Games-Connections-March-25-2025

The Connections puzzle for today contains the words: Bale, Crystal, Panda, Mud, Teddy, Tuxedo, Able, Day, Abel, Cal, A Bell, Oreo, Abe, Crossword, Bela, and Dick.

Hints for the NYT Connections Puzzle

Need a few hints to get you through this Connections? Open up all the different sections below to see things like general hints, category clues, and a whole lot more for this difficult puzzle game.

Some General Hints for the Whole Connections Puzzle

Here are some hints for this innovative puzzle game:

1. None of these categories are about famous last names, but one of these groups is about famous first names, sort of.

2. None of the groups are acronyms or shortened postal codes for things (like Cal could be for California).

3. A Bell and Mud go in the same group.

Here are some hints for the yellow/straightforward answer: Other things you could put in this category: Newspaper, Zebra, Old Movies.

The category for the yellow/straightforward Connections is Black-And-White Things.

The answer to the yellow/straightforward Connections is Black-And-White Things.

The four words for this group in the puzzle are: Crossword, Oreo, Panda, Tuxedo

Here are some hints for the green/medium difficulty answer: All these words have the same letters.

The category for the green/medium difficulty Connections is Anagrams.

The answer to the green/medium difficulty Connections is Anagrams.

The four words for this group in the puzzle are: Abel, Able, Bale, Bela.

Here are some hints for the blue/difficult answer in this mind-boggling puzzle game: Short for presidents.

The category for the blue/difficult Connections is U.S. Presidential Nicknames.

The answer to the blue/difficult Connections is U.S. Presidential Nicknames.

The four words for this group in the puzzle are: Abe, Cal, Dick, Teddy.

Here are some hints for the purple/tricky answer: Each of these four words can follow up the same two-word phrase to make four common sayings.

The category for the purple/tricky difficulty in Connections is Clear As ____.

The answer to the purple/tricky difficulty in Connections is Clear As ____.

The four words for this group in the puzzle are: A Bell, Crystal, Day, Mud.

Answers for Today's NYT Connections #653 for March 25, 2025

Searching for the whole answer for today's New York Times Games Connections? You can find it in the expandable section below; just open it up with the "Read More" button to see the categories and which words are part of each.

Yellow - Black-And-White Things: Crossword, Oreo, Panda, Tuxedo
Green - Anagrams: Abel, Able, Bale, Bela
Blue - U.S. Presidential Nicknames: Abe, Cal, Dick, Teddy
Purple - Clear As ____: A Bell, Crystal, Day, Mud