NYT Connections #934 for December 31, 2025 features groups about New Year’s Eve, disappearing objects, Philadelphia, and body-of-water prefixes. Use the hints below before scrolling to the full solution.
NYT Connections #934, published Wednesday, December 31, 2025, is divided into four groups: New Year’s Eve celebrations, places where things disappear, Philadelphia references, and words that become phrases when preceded by a body-of-water term.
There is an important date distinction here: this is puzzle #934 from December 31, 2025, not the December 31, 2024 puzzle, which was #569.
NYT Connections #934 word list
Here are the 16 entries before the solution is revealed:
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- SOUND BARRIER
- CHAMPAGNE FLUTE
- ROCKY
- SEA BASS
- BERMUDA TRIANGLE
- NOISEMAKER
- LIBERTY BELL
- DRYER
- FIREWORKS
- COUCH CUSHIONS
- CHANNEL SURF
- CHEESESTEAK
- BLACK HOLE
- BAY LEAF
- BROTHERLY LOVE
- BALL DROP
Hints for Connections #934
Try these broad hints first. Each hint describes one group without giving away every answer.
- Yellow: Things associated with celebrating New Year’s Eve.
- Green: Places or things where missing objects are imagined to go.
- Blue: Terms strongly associated with Philadelphia.
- Purple: Add a body-of-water word before each entry.
One answer from each group
If you need a more direct nudge, one representative answer from each category is:
- Yellow: NOISEMAKER
- Green: DRYER
- Blue: CHEESESTEAK
- Purple: SOUND BARRIER
How to solve Connections #934
1. Start with the New Year’s Eve cluster
BALL DROP, CHAMPAGNE FLUTE, FIREWORKS, and NOISEMAKER all point toward New Year’s Eve. The ball drop evokes the signature Times Square tradition, the champagne flute is used for a celebratory toast, fireworks commonly mark celebrations, and a noisemaker is a party horn or similar device.
2. Find the places where things disappear
The next group is built around the familiar idea of something vanishing. The BERMUDA TRIANGLE is popularly associated with unexplained disappearances, while a BLACK HOLE has such intense gravity that light and matter cannot escape after crossing its event horizon. COUCH CUSHIONS are a jokingly familiar hiding place for small household items, and a DRYER is often blamed when a sock goes missing.
The couch-cushion and dryer connections are deliberately humorous rather than literal. That contrast is part of the category’s appeal: two entries refer to popular mysteries, while two refer to everyday excuses for lost objects.
3. Recognize the Philadelphia references
Once the New Year’s Eve and disappearance groups are removed, the Philadelphia cluster becomes clearer: BROTHERLY LOVE, CHEESESTEAK, LIBERTY BELL, and ROCKY.
“Brotherly love” reflects the meaning traditionally associated with Philadelphia’s name. The cheesesteak is a signature Philadelphia food, and the Liberty Bell is displayed at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia. Rocky is also strongly tied to the city through the film’s setting, imagery, and famous Philadelphia locations.
4. Use the remaining words as prefixes
The four remaining entries form the purple group when each is preceded by a word associated with a body of water:
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches- BAY + LEAF = BAY LEAF
- CHANNEL + SURF = CHANNEL SURF
- SEA + BASS = SEA BASS
- SOUND + BARRIER = SOUND BARRIER
The category is a word-prefix construction. The complete phrases are not being presented as bodies of water; rather, bay, channel, sea, and sound are the water-related words that begin the entries.
Connections #934 answers
| Color | Category | Answers |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | Happy New Year! | BALL DROP, CHAMPAGNE FLUTE, FIREWORKS, NOISEMAKER |
| Green | Places where things disappear | BERMUDA TRIANGLE, BLACK HOLE, COUCH CUSHIONS, DRYER |
| Blue | Associated with Philadelphia | BROTHERLY LOVE, CHEESESTEAK, LIBERTY BELL, ROCKY |
| Purple | Starting with bodies of water | BAY LEAF, CHANNEL SURF, SEA BASS, SOUND BARRIER |
Why this puzzle can be tricky
Several entries create tempting but incorrect associations. SOUND BARRIER and NOISEMAKER both relate to sound, but they belong to different groups. FIREWORKS may suggest entertainment or an event, while ROCKY can also invite a broader film-related connection. Connections rewards finding four exact entries that work together and leave four equally explainable entries behind—not merely spotting a loose theme.
The most reliable path is to lock in the strongest seasonal group first, remove it, then look for the disappearance jokes. With those eight words gone, the Philadelphia references stand out. The final four resolve through the shared prefixes bay, channel, sea, and sound.
More Connections-style puzzles
If you enjoy the category-matching format away from a screen, Puzzle Mania!: Wordle, Connections, Spelling Bee, Minis and More! is an official NYT Games print collection that includes Connections-style material. It is optional extra puzzle content—not something you need to solve game #934.
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Frequently Asked Questions
When was NYT Connections #934 published?
NYT Connections #934 was published on Wednesday, December 31, 2025. It is different from puzzle #569, which was published on December 31, 2024.
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What are the categories in Connections #934?
The four groups are: New Year’s Eve celebrations; places where things disappear; terms associated with Philadelphia; and entries beginning with body-of-water words.
What is the purple answer in Connections #934?
The purple group is BAY LEAF, CHANNEL SURF, SEA BASS, and SOUND BARRIER. Each starts with a water-related word: bay, channel, sea, or sound.
The Bottom Line
The complete solution to NYT Connections #934 for December 31, 2025 is: New Year’s Eve celebrations; places where things disappear; Philadelphia references; and entries beginning with body-of-water words.
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