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Below, the hints come first so you can preserve the solving experience. The complete answers and explanations follow. Spoilers begin with the answer section.
Hints for Connections #772
Connections asks you to divide 16 words into four groups of four. The categories are color-coded by difficulty: yellow is generally the most straightforward, while purple is usually the trickiest. The puzzle is designed to include misleading overlaps, so a word that appears to fit one group may belong somewhere else.
Yellow hint
These words describe talking back, insolence, or a defiant manner.
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Green hint
These words can mean to calm, moderate, reduce, or lessen something.
Blue hint
These are repeating visual designs or arrangements.
Purple hint
Each word can come before the word pie.
The 16 words in Connections #772
The complete grid was:
CHESS, CHEEK, WHOOPIE, CUSHION, TEMPER, CHECKERS, HUMBLE, ATTITUDE, LIP, SOFTEN, HONEYCOMB, CUTIE, DAMPEN, CAMO, MOUTH, STRIPES
Answers for Connections #772
Yellow: SASSINESS
ATTITUDE, CHEEK, LIP, MOUTH
All four can refer to insolence or talking back. Someone can have an attitude, give you cheek, or give you lip. Mouth works in the expression “watch your mouth” and can describe talking back when used as a verb, as in “don’t mouth off.”
Green: MITIGATE
CUSHION, DAMPEN, SOFTEN, TEMPER
These are all ways to lessen an effect or make something less severe. You can cushion an impact, dampen noise or enthusiasm, soften harshness, and temper a reaction or statement.
Blue: PATTERNS
CAMO, CHECKERS, HONEYCOMB, STRIPES
Each word identifies a recognizable repeating visual design. CAMO refers to camouflage patterns, checkers creates a regular checkerboard design, honeycomb suggests repeating hexagons, and stripes are repeated bands or lines.
CHESS is the deliberate trap here. A chessboard is checkered, but CHESS belongs in the purple category instead.
Purple: ___ PIE
CHESS, CUTIE, HUMBLE, WHOOPIE
These words form:
- chess pie
- cutie pie
- humble pie
- whoopie pie
Chess pie and whoopie pie are the less familiar phrases, which helps make this the puzzle’s purple group. Chess pie is a sweet custard-style pie, while a whoopie pie is a sandwich-style dessert made with two rounded cakes and a creamy filling.
The grid entry is CUTIE, forming “cutie pie.” Some secondary coverage may describe the category with “cute,” but CUTIE is the word that appears in this puzzle’s grid.
A practical solving route
- Start with CUSHION, DAMPEN, SOFTEN, and TEMPER. Their shared meaning—making something less intense or severe—is the cleanest set in the grid.
- Look for the visual group. CAMO, CHECKERS, HONEYCOMB, and STRIPES are all patterns. Be careful not to add CHESS simply because chessboards are checkered.
- Identify the language of insolence. ATTITUDE, CHEEK, LIP, and MOUTH all point toward sassiness or talking back.
- Use the four remaining words. Once the first three groups are removed, CHESS, CUTIE, HUMBLE, and WHOOPIE reveal the “___ PIE” connection.
Why CHESS is the key red herring
The blue group is meant to tempt you into choosing CHESS alongside CHECKERS. That association is natural: both words are strongly linked to a checkered board. But Connections solutions depend on the exact four-word group, not merely on whether a word can be associated with a category.
CHESS becomes decisive only when considered as a phrase-completion clue. “Chess pie” is a real dessert name, and pairing it with CUTIE, HUMBLE, and WHOOPIE produces a complete set of four.
When was Connections #772 released?
Connections #772 was the puzzle for Tuesday, July 22, 2025. The New York Times releases its daily Connections puzzle at midnight in the player’s local time zone, so the displayed date can differ for players in different regions—especially around international time-zone boundaries.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchIf you are revisiting the puzzle later, the NYT Connections archive is available to subscribers. Archived puzzles count toward completed-puzzle statistics, but they do not change current or maximum release-day streaks.
Quick answer key
| Color | Category | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | SASSINESS | ATTITUDE, CHEEK, LIP, MOUTH |
| Green | MITIGATE | CUSHION, DAMPEN, SOFTEN, TEMPER |
| Blue | PATTERNS | CAMO, CHECKERS, HONEYCOMB, STRIPES |
| Purple | ___ PIE | CHESS, CUTIE, HUMBLE, WHOOPIE |
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the answers to NYT Connections #772?
The groups are SASSINESS: ATTITUDE, CHEEK, LIP, MOUTH; MITIGATE: CUSHION, DAMPEN, SOFTEN, TEMPER; PATTERNS: CAMO, CHECKERS, HONEYCOMB, STRIPES; and ___ PIE: CHESS, CUTIE, HUMBLE, WHOOPIE.
What date was Connections #772?
Connections #772 was published on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. The puzzle may appear under a different calendar date for some players because daily releases occur at midnight in the player’s local time zone.
Why isn’t CHESS in the patterns group?
CHESS is a tempting match for CHECKERS because both relate to a checkered board. However, CHESS belongs with CUTIE, HUMBLE, and WHOOPIE because each can precede “pie.”
Best Value
Is the word CUTIE or CUTE in the purple group?
The grid entry is CUTIE, which forms “cutie pie.” “Cute” may appear in some secondary descriptions, but it is not the word used in this puzzle’s 16-word grid.
Can I replay Connections #772?
The New York Times offers an archive of older Connections puzzles to subscribers. Archived games affect completed-puzzle statistics but not current or maximum release-day streaks.
The Bottom Line
Connections #772’s solution is: SASSINESS, MITIGATE, PATTERNS, and ___ PIE. The most important trap is CHESS: it looks like a pattern-related word because of the chessboard, but it belongs with CUTIE, HUMBLE, and WHOOPIE.
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