NYT Connections Answer

Solving the NYT Connections for Saturday, July 25, 2026

Happy Saturday, puzzle lovers! Today’s NYT Connections felt like a world tour. We traveled from the linguistic roots of family to the financial centers of a whole continent, and finished off with a few rounds of cards and a steak dinner.

The editor, Wyna Liu, definitely threw a few curveballs today. If you’re feeling a bit stuck on the answer for 2026-07-25, don't worry—I’ve broken down the logic and the categories to help you keep that streak alive.

Hints for Today's Categories

If you don't want the full spoilers just yet, here is a NYT Connections hint for each of the four groups:

• Yellow Group: Familiar titles for family members in a Romance language.
• Green Group: These are all things that happen to your eyes or throat when you get emotional.
• Blue Group: These words all share a common "fill-in-the-blank" prefix.
• Purple Group: You’ll need some knowledge of global economics and geography for this one.

Yellow: SPANISH RELATIVES

This category was likely the easiest for many, especially if you have even a basic grasp of Spanish. These are common terms for family members.

• ABUELA: Grandmother
• HIJO: Son
• MADRE: Mother
• PRIMO: Cousin

The Reveal: These are all SPANISH RELATIVES.

Green: START TO CRY, WITH "UP"

This group consists of verbs that describe the physical onset of tears or emotion. The trick here was realizing that each of these words is almost always followed by the word "up" in this context.

• CHOKE: To have difficulty speaking due to emotion (Choke up).
• MIST: When your eyes get slightly blurry with tears (Mist up).
• TEAR: The most literal version of the four (Tear up).
• WELL: When liquid rises to the surface (Well up).

The Reveal: This group is START TO CRY, WITH "UP".

Blue: STRIP ___

This is a classic NYT Connections "fill-in-the-blank" category. At first glance, CLUB and MALL seem like they might belong to a "Places to Go" category, but adding "Strip" before each word ties them all together.

• CLUB: A venue for adult entertainment.
• MALL: An open-air shopping center.
• POKER: A high-stakes variation of the card game.
• STEAK: A specific cut of beef (like a New York Strip).

The Reveal: These are all things you can put the word STRIP before.

Purple: AFRICAN CURRENCIES

This was the "expert level" category for today. While RAND might be familiar to some, the others require a bit of specific knowledge about the legal tender used across Africa.

• KWANZA: The currency of Angola.
• LEONE: The currency of Sierra Leone.
• NAIRA: The currency of Nigeria.
• RAND: The currency of South Africa.

The Reveal: These are all AFRICAN CURRENCIES.

Final Thoughts on Today's Puzzle

Today’s grid had some clever overlaps. "Well" and "Club" could have easily been part of many different categories. The African Currencies group was definitely the "purple" group of the day, acting as the final barrier for anyone not brushed up on their world geography.

How did you do? Did the Spanish terms give it away, or were you stuck trying to figure out what a NAIRA was?

Frequently Asked Questions

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is a daily word game where players are given 16 words and must group them into four sets of four based on a common theme.

How to play NYT Connections?

Select four words that you believe share a commonality. If you are correct, the category will be revealed. You have four lives; four incorrect guesses and the game ends.

When does NYT Connections reset?

The puzzle resets every day at midnight in your local time zone.

What do the colors mean in Connections?

The colors indicate the difficulty level assigned by the editor:

• Yellow: Most straightforward/easiest.
• Green: Common knowledge/moderate.
• Blue: Slightly more abstract or specific.
• Purple: The trickiest, often involving wordplay or obscure trivia.