Hints For Today
#815

NYT Connections Hints & Answers - #815 (Sep 03 2025)

Your second brain to mastering the NYT Connections puzzle with progressive hints, expert strategies, and complete solutions. Learn to solve like a pro.

Explanations & Common Pitfalls
Progressive Hint System
Expert Strategies Included

New York Time: Thursday, September 18, 2025 - 10:23 PM
Next connections hints will be available in: --:--:--

Today's Connections Hints & Answers

Check Yesterday's Connections Hints & Answers
WED
NES
DAY
DAWN
FLOWER
BOND
GENESIS
ALF
MTV
FLY
FUSE
START
COMBINE
POLE
BIRTH
VHS
Connections Credit: New York Times

Progressive Hints for Connections #815 (September 3, 2025)

Get the level of help you need. Start with gentle nudges and reveal stronger hints as needed. Learn to solve puzzles, don't just get answers.

🟡 Yellow Group
Easy
Main Hint: DAWN
💡Gentle Hint
Think about the very start of something

Show Stronger Hint

These words all describe the beginning or origin of things

Show Direct Guidance

All of these mean the same as start or beginning
🟢 Green Group
Medium
Main Hint: BOND
💡Gentle Hint
Think about things coming together

Show Stronger Hint

These words describe connecting or uniting things

Show Direct Guidance

All of these mean to join or connect together
🔵 Blue Group
Hard
Main Hint: MTV
💡Gentle Hint
Think about popular abbreviations from the 1980s

Show Stronger Hint

These were well-known shortened names from TV culture

Show Direct Guidance

All were famous TV-related abbreviations in the 80s
🟣 Purple Group
Tricky
Main Hint: FLOWER
💡Gentle Hint
Think about words that can follow May

Show Stronger Hint

These can all come after the month of May

Show Direct Guidance

All can follow May to make common phrases

Complete Answers & Explanations

Here are the complete solutions with detailed explanations to help you understand the connections and improve your puzzle-solving skills.

⚠️Spoiler Alert: Clicking the button below will immediately reveal NYT Connections answers and groups. Only proceed if you've finished solving with the hints above.

👉 Click To Reveal Answers For #815

🟡 Yellow Group
BEGINNING
BIRTH
DAWN
GENESIS
START
💡Explanation
These words all describe the concept of something starting. Birth is when a life begins. Dawn is when the day begins. Genesis means the origin or creation of something. Start is the point where something begins. They all share the meaning of a first moment or beginning.
❗Common Pitfalls

People might think BIRTH only relates to babies and not beginnings. DAWN might be seen as just a time of day. GENESIS is a specific book in the Bible. START is very common and could fit many groups. These words seem simple but their connection is about abstract beginnings.

🧠 Strategic Insight

Look for words that mean the same core idea. If a word can be used to describe how something originates it might belong here. Think about synonyms for commencement. This group is about the concept of initiation.

🟢 Green Group
JOIN
BOND
COMBINE
FUSE
WED
💡Explanation
These words all mean to connect or bring things together. Bond means to join securely. Combine means to mix or unite. Fuse means to blend together permanently. Wed means to marry or join in marriage. They all describe different ways of creating connections.
❗Common Pitfalls

BOND might be confused with financial investments. COMBINE might be thought of as farm equipment. FUSE could be mistaken for electrical components. WED might be seen only as marriage. The connection is about joining not the specific contexts.

🧠 Strategic Insight

Think about verbs that mean to connect or unite. If words can be used interchangeably with join they might belong together. This group is about the action of bringing things together. Look for words that create unity.

🔵 Blue Group
TV-RELATED ABBREVIATIONS IN THE 80S
ALF
MTV
NES
VHS
💡Explanation
These were all famous abbreviations from 1980s television culture. ALF was a TV show about a funny alien. MTV was the music television channel. NES was the Nintendo Entertainment System for TV gaming. VHS was the video format for watching movies on TV. They were all well-known terms for TV viewers in the 80s.
❗Common Pitfalls

ALF might be mistaken for a name or word. MTV could be seen as just a music channel. NES might be grouped with other gaming terms. VHS could be grouped with technology terms. The 1980s TV connection is very specific and might be missed.

🧠 Strategic Insight

This group requires knowledge of 1980s pop culture. Remember that abbreviations can be proper nouns. Think about what people watched on TV during that decade. This tests your knowledge of historical media and entertainment.

🟣 Purple Group
MAY____
DAY
FLOWER
FLY
POLE
💡Explanation
These words can all follow May to form common phrases. May Day is the first day of May celebrated as a holiday. Mayflower is the famous ship that brought pilgrims to America. Mayfly is a type of insect that appears in spring. Maypole is a tall pole used in spring celebrations with ribbons. They all complete the word May.
❗Common Pitfalls

DAY might be grouped with time-related words. FLOWER might be grouped with plants. FLY might be grouped with insects. POLE might be grouped with objects. The connection to May is not obvious without context.

🧠 Strategic Insight

This is a wordplay group where May acts as a prefix. Try adding May to each word to see if it makes a familiar term. Think about holidays traditions and natural things associated with May. The connection is through compound words.

How to Play NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is a fun word puzzle where you find hidden patterns between words. Here's how to play in simple steps:

Step 1: Look at the 16 words

You'll see a grid with 16 words. These can be anything - objects, actions, concepts, or even names. Example below:
How to play nyt connections example

Step 2: Find groups of 4 words that share a connection

Look for words that belong together. The connection could be:
- Same category (like types of fruit)
- Common theme (like things related to space)
- Wordplay (like phrases that include "cold")
In our example, you might group:
🟨 FRUITS: APPLE, BANANA, ORANGE, GRAPE
🟩 VEGETABLES: CARROT, POTATO, TOMATO, LETTUCE
🟦 FLOWERS: ROSE, TULIP, DAISY, LILY
🟪 PETS: DOG, CAT, BIRD, FISH

Step 3: Select your group and submit

Click or tap on 4 words that you think belong together, then submit your guess. If correct, the words will be removed from the grid and grouped by color. If wrong, you'll get one strike.

Step 4: Find all 4 groups to win!

You have 4 strikes before the game ends. The groups have different difficulty levels:
🟨 Yellow (easiest)
🟩 Green (medium)
🟦 Blue (hard)
🟪 Purple (hardest)
Pro Tip: Some connections are tricky! Words might have multiple meanings. For example, "BATTERY" could be part of a group about electronics or about baseball. Think about different ways words can be connected!

Expert Solving Strategies

Learn how to improve your future NYT Connections solving skills

Start with Yellow


The yellow group is usually the most straightforward. Solve it first to build confidence.

Watch for Bait Words


Some words might fit multiple categories. Look for the most specific connection to crack a group.

Use the 3+1 Method


If you're confident about 3 words in a group, the 4th is likely correct too. Tested countless times.

The History of NYT Connections

NYT Connections is one of the newest additions to The New York Times' puzzle collection. Here's how it came to be:

June 12, 2023

Official Launch - NYT Connections was released to the public as the newest puzzle from The New York Times.

Creator: Wyna Liu

The Puzzle Mastermind - The game was created by Wyna Liu, a puzzle editor at The New York Times who specializes in crafting engaging word challenges.

Post-Wordle Era

Expanding the Puzzle Universe - Following the massive success of Wordle (acquired by NYT in 2022), Connections was part of The Times' strategy to offer more diverse daily puzzles.

Unique Niche

Filling a Gap - Unlike Wordle (single word guessing) or Crossword (broad knowledge), Connections specifically tests pattern recognition and word association skills.

Growing Popularity

Cult Following - The game quickly developed a dedicated fanbase who love its balance of accessibility and challenge, plus those satisfying "aha!" moments when discovering connections.

Ongoing Evolution

Constant Innovation - Liu and her team continue to refine the puzzle, introducing new types of connections and adjusting difficulty to keep the game fresh and engaging.

⚠️Hintsfor.today is an independent website and is not affiliated with The New York Times Company. Connections® is a registered trademark of The New York Times Company. All game materials and content are the property of The New York Times and are used for informational and educational purposes under the principles of fair use.

FAQ

How do NYT Connections hints work?

Our NYT Connections hints guide you toward the answer without giving it away. We provide clues for each color group, starting with a general category hint and then offering more specific suggestions, allowing you to solve the puzzle with just the right amount of help.

What makes your hints spoiler-free?

Our hints are designed to be spoiler-free by revealing information in stages. You only see the clues you choose to, ensuring the final answers remain hidden until you're ready to solve the group yourself or decide to see the solution.

When are daily hints updated?

The hints for NYT Connections, are updated every day shortly after the new connection is released, more presicely at 12 Midnight ( GMT-4). You can count on fresh, timely clues each morning to help you solve the latest challenge.

Who writes the tips on Hints for Today?

Our tips and hints are crafted by a team of puzzle enthusiasts and life-hack experts. We are passionate about problem-solving and dedicated to providing clear, effective, and trustworthy advice every day.
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