NYT Connections puzzle #771 was published for Monday, July 21, 2025. Below are spoiler-light hints first, followed by the full answers and explanations.
Looking for the NYT Connections answers for Monday, July 21? Puzzle #771 asks you to sort 16 words into four groups of four. The trickiest category is the purple group, where every answer can be represented by an apostrophe.
Hints for Connections #771
Try these spoiler-light clues before revealing the answers:
- Yellow: Something added beyond the basic amount.
- Green: Changes between states of matter involving a liquid.
- Blue: Four terms associated with a famous sitcom.
- Purple: One small punctuation mark can represent all four.
If you want one anchor word for each group, try GRAVY, MELTING, SHRINKAGE, and FOOT.
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The 16 words in Connections #771
Here is the complete grid before the answers are revealed:
FREEZING, FOOT, EXTRA, CONTRACTION, ICING, SHRINKAGE, CONDENSATION, MELTING, POSSESSIVE, YADA YADA, BONUS, REGIFTING, FESTIVUS, QUOTE, GRAVY, VAPORIZATION
Spoilers: NYT Connections answers for July 21, 2025
Warning: The four category names and complete solutions appear below.
Rank #2
Yellow: ADDITIONAL PERK
BONUS, EXTRA, GRAVY, ICING
Each word can describe something added beyond the basic amount or expectation. Bonus and extra are the most direct matches. Gravy means an additional benefit, while icing can describe an appealing extra—the “icing on the cake.” Here, gravy is being used idiomatically rather than as a food clue.
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Green: PHASE TRANSITIONS FOR LIQUIDS
CONDENSATION, FREEZING, MELTING, VAPORIZATION
These are changes of state involving a liquid phase:
- Condensation: gas changes into liquid.
- Freezing: liquid changes into solid.
- Melting: solid changes into liquid.
- Vaporization: liquid changes into gas.
Freezing and melting are the easiest anchors. The less obvious pair, condensation and vaporization, completes the scientific category.
Rank #3
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Blue: CONCEPTS FROM SEINFELD
FESTIVUS, REGIFTING, SHRINKAGE, YADA YADA
These terms are strongly associated with the sitcom Seinfeld. Festivus is the fictional holiday featured in the show. Regifting is tied to the series’ comic discussion of giving away an unwanted gift. Shrinkage refers to the famous explanation for an apparent change in anatomy after exposure to cold water, and “yada yada” became especially recognizable through the episode titled “The Yada Yada.”
The show did not invent every term in this group: regifting and “yada yada” existed before Seinfeld. The connection is their prominent association with particular storylines and jokes from the series.
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CONTRACTION, FOOT, POSSESSIVE, QUOTE
This is the wordplay-heavy group. An apostrophe can appear in a contraction, such as “can’t”; mark a possessive, as in “writer’s”; represent a single quotation mark, or quote; and indicate feet in a measurement such as 5′ 10″.
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FOOT is the key surprise. It does not refer to a body part here—the apostrophe is the important connection. Likewise, QUOTE points to the punctuation mark rather than simply to something someone said.
How to play NYT Connections
Connections presents 16 words. Your goal is to divide them into four groups of four, with each group sharing a common property. Decoys are part of the challenge: a word may seem to fit more than one possible category, so look for the grouping that accounts for all four words precisely.
Connections is available through the New York Times Games website and app. If you enjoy the daily puzzle but want a screen-free option, The New York Times Games: Puzzle Mania! is a physical collection that includes Connections-style challenges. It is a separate collection and should not be assumed to contain the exact July 21, 2025, puzzle.
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What are the categories in Connections #771?
NYT Connections #771 has four groups: Additional Perk; Phase Transitions for Liquids; Concepts from Seinfeld; and What an Apostrophe Can Indicate.
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Why is FOOT in the purple group?
The purple group is CONTRACTION, FOOT, POSSESSIVE, and QUOTE. Each can be indicated by, or associated with, an apostrophe.
Which date is Connections puzzle #771?
The July 21, 2025, puzzle is Connections #771. The puzzle number disambiguates the year because the standard title does not include one.
The Bottom Line
The answers for NYT Connections #771 on Monday, July 21, 2025, are BONUS, EXTRA, GRAVY, ICING; CONDENSATION, FREEZING, MELTING, VAPORIZATION; FESTIVUS, REGIFTING, SHRINKAGE, YADA YADA; and CONTRACTION, FOOT, POSSESSIVE, QUOTE.
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