NYT Connections Today: Hints and Answers for December 21, 2025

Welcome to another chilly December morning! If you’re settling in with a warm beverage to tackle today's puzzle, you're in for a treat. The puzzle for December 21, 2025, curated by Wyna Liu, offers a delightful mix of physical objects, institutional knowledge, and some tricky verb synonyms.

Whether you are one away from a "Perfect" score or you’re completely stumped by the purple category, I’ve got the NYT Connections hint and the full answer for 2025-12-21 right here to help you out.

Today's Hints: How to Solve

Before we reveal the answers, let's look at some clues to help you solve it yourself:

• Yellow Category: Think about an object you might find on a kitchen counter during afternoon tea.
• Green Category: These are specific areas or desks you would visit if you were doing research at a university.
• Blue Category: This group is all about things that "come forth" or originate from a source.
• Purple Category: These four words can all be followed by the same four-letter word to create common terms.

Yellow: Features of a Teapot

This group was the most straightforward of the bunch. If you visualized a classic teapot, these parts immediately stand out.

• HANDLE
• LID
• SPOUT
• STRAINER

Explanation: Every traditional teapot has a handle to hold, a lid to keep the heat in, and a spout to pour. Many also include a built-in strainer to catch loose tea leaves.

Green: Library Sections

As a fan of quiet study spaces, this category felt very nostalgic. These are the various departments or areas you’ll find in a large library.

• CIRCULATION
• PERIODICALS
• REFERENCE
• STACKS

Explanation: Circulation is where you check books out; Periodicals houses magazines and journals; Reference is for non-circulating research materials; and the Stacks are the rows upon rows of bookshelves.

Blue: Arise

This category was a bit more abstract because some of these words are more commonly used as nouns, but here they function as verbs meaning "to originate."

• EMERGE
• FLOW
• ISSUE
• RESULT

Explanation: To Arise is to come into being. If something Issues from a source, it flows out. Similarly, a Result is something that arises from a specific cause.

Purple: ___ DROP

The "word that follows/precedes" category is a Connections staple. Today, we're looking for words that pair with "DROP."

• AIR (Airdrop)
• EAVES (Eavesdrop)
• GUM (Gumdrop)
• RAIN (Raindrop)

Explanation: This category requires a bit of lateral thinking. Airdrop is a tech feature or a military delivery; Eavesdrop is to listen in secretly; Gumdrop is a candy; and Raindrop is... well, rain!

The Big Reveal: NYT Connections Answer for 2025-12-21

If you just want the quick breakdown of the groups for today's puzzle:

• FEATURES OF A TEAPOT: HANDLE, LID, SPOUT, STRAINER
• LIBRARY SECTIONS: CIRCULATION, PERIODICALS, REFERENCE, STACKS
• ARISE: EMERGE, FLOW, ISSUE, RESULT
• ___DROP: AIR, EAVES, GUM, RAIN

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I play NYT Connections?

In Connections, you are given a grid of 16 words. You must group them into four sets of four by finding a common thread between them. Each group is color-coded by difficulty: Yellow (easiest), Green, Blue, and Purple (hardest).

When does the NYT Connections puzzle reset?

The puzzle resets daily at midnight local time. This means you can start your day with a fresh challenge every morning!

Can a word belong to more than one category?

While some words might seem to fit in multiple categories, there is only one unique solution where every word belongs to exactly one group of four. This is often where the game’s "red herrings" come into play.

Who is the editor of Connections?

The game is currently edited by Wyna Liu, who is known for her clever wordplay and occasionally devious "Purple" categories.

I hope this guide helped you keep your winning streak alive! See you tomorrow for another round of Connections.