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Hints for Connections #696
- Yellow: Ways a broken bone can improve or become whole again.
- Green: Words that can mean “excluding” or “with the exception of.”
- Blue: The four suits in tarot’s minor arcana.
- Purple: Words that sound like gemstone names when spoken aloud.
One-word nudges, in the same order: HEAL, EXCEPT, WANDS, and OPEL. The last group depends on sound rather than identical spelling.
Answers for May 7, 2025
Spoilers below.
| Category | Words | Why they fit |
|---|---|---|
| GET BETTER, AS A BROKEN BONE | HEAL, KNIT, MEND, RECOVER | “Knit” can describe a broken bone joining as it heals. |
| NOT INCLUDING | BESIDES, BUT, EXCEPT, SAVE | Each can indicate exclusion in an appropriate construction. |
| TAROT MINOR ARCANA SUITS | CUPS, PENTACLES, SWORDS, WANDS | These are the four traditional suits of the minor arcana. |
| HOMOPHONES OF GEMSTONES | CHORAL, OPEL, PURL, QUARTS | They approximate CORAL, OPAL, PEARL, and QUARTZ when spoken. |
How the trickier groups work
KNIT belongs with healing
The first category is not simply about getting better from any illness or injury. It specifically invokes a broken bone, which may knit together. That makes KNIT the less obvious fit alongside HEAL, MEND, and RECOVER.
Words of exclusion
BESIDES, BUT, EXCEPT, and SAVE can all mean “apart from” or “excluding,” depending on how they are used in a sentence.
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The tarot anchor
PENTACLES and WANDS point toward tarot; CUPS and SWORDS complete the four-suit set named by the category.
Say the purple words aloud
The spellings are deliberately close-but-not-exact sound matches: CHORAL/CORAL, OPEL/OPAL, PURL/PEARL, and QUARTS/QUARTZ. Treating the category as a pronunciation puzzle, rather than a spelling puzzle, makes the connection clear.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.All 16 words
CHORAL, CUPS, KNIT, SAVE, RECOVER, PURL, BUT, QUARTS, SWORDS, BESIDES, MEND, PENTACLES, OPEL, HEAL, WANDS, EXCEPT.
The May 7, 2025 date identifies game #696. The answer groups agree across guides from TechRadar, iTechGuides, and Try Hard Guides; these are secondary answer guides, not a direct NYT confirmation.
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