The NYT Connections puzzle, a daily word game from The New York Times, challenges players to identify relationships between words. Launched on June 12, 2023, during its beta phase, it has quickly become a popular game. This article provides hints, categories, and solutions to the NYT Connections puzzle for August 26, 2025. The game, created by The New York Times’ associate puzzle editor, Wyna Liu, requires players to group 16 words into four sets. The game offers different difficulty levels. Its popularity has led to discussions on platforms like X (formerly Twitter), where players share their progress.
Here are some hints:
Yellow: Related to physical appearance.
Green: Describing unpleasant people.
Blue: Action words that irritate.
Purple: Words that precede “stool.”
The categories for the August 26, 2025, puzzle are:
DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS
A REAL JERK
PESTER
WORDS BEFORE “STOOL”
Here are the solutions:
Yellow: MOLE, PIERCING, SCAR, TATTOO
Green: CREEP, HEEL, RAT, SKUNK
Blue: BADGER, BUG, HARRY, RIDE
Purple: BAR, FOOT, STEP, TOAD
To play, connect words within a grid of sixteen to form groups of four. If a player is stuck, there are hints available. A new puzzle is released every day. The goal is to group words into four sets based on their connection. These connections can be based on synonyms, related concepts, or other similarities. The difficulty ranges from yellow (easiest) to purple (hardest). Players lose a life for each incorrect guess.