Looking for help with today’s NYT Connections puzzle? Below you’ll find the category hints, clue breakdown, and full set of answers for Puzzle #909, published on Saturday, December 6, 2025.
The Connections game remains one of The New York Times’ most popular daily puzzles, second only to the crossword. Each day, players must sort 16 words into four sets based on shared themes, ranging from straightforward associations to hidden or layered connections.
How NYT Connections Works
Each puzzle presents 16 terms that must be sorted into four groups of four. Every group corresponds to a theme, with the difficulty indicated by color:
Yellow (easiest)
Green
Blue
Purple (trickiest)
Success requires logic, pattern recognition and a bit of wordplay—and players only get a limited number of mistakes.
Today’s Category Hints — December 6, 2025
🟡 Yellow: Just okay
🟢 Green: Chill out
🔵 Blue: The kids love them
🟣 Purple: Focus on the first few letters
One-Word Associations
🟡: NORM
🟢: COOL
🔵: MINION
🟣: MONITORSHIP
Today’s Groups and Themes
🟡 Yellow Group — Norm
Words linked by the idea of the “standard” or “usual”:
AVERAGE
MEAN
PAR
STANDARD
🟢 Green Group — Mollify
Terms associated with calming or reducing intensity:
COOL
MODERATE
SETTLE
TEMPER
🔵 Blue Group — Members of Animation Franchise Groups
Entries referencing characters or titles from major animated franchises:
CAR
INCREDIBLE
MINION
MONSTER
🟣 Purple Group — Words Beginning With Names of Reptiles or Amphibians
Each word starts with a herpetological reference (adder, monitor, newt, toad):
ADDERALL
MONITORSHIP
NEWTON
TOADY
Puzzle Breakdown
The Yellow group is typically the quickest to solve, anchored by straightforward words like Average and Mean. The Green group leans on synonyms for calming or easing tension. The Blue set ties into familiar animated film series beloved by younger audiences. The Purple category is the most challenging today, requiring solvers to spot animal names embedded within longer words.
How did you do on Puzzle #909? Check back tomorrow for fresh hints and complete solutions for the next Connections challenge.
