Spoiler warning: The answers for NYT Connections game #817 are below. If you want to solve it yourself first, use the hints in order and stop before the answer table.
This puzzle is dated Friday, September 5, 2025. The complete groups are PIQUANCY, AVAILABLE, MALE ANIMALS, and CHINESE DYNASTIES.
Hints for Connections #817
Read these clues one at a time, moving to the next only if you need more help:
- One group concerns a sharp or lively taste or sensation.
- One group describes being unattached or attending without a companion.
- One group contains words for male animals.
- One group consists of Chinese dynasties.
Answers for Friday, September 5
The full grid is HAN, SOLO, FREE, ZING, RAM, KICK, STAG, BUCK, SINGLE, SONG, JACK, TANG, MING, PUNCH, BILLY, and ZEST.
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#1 Best Overall
| Color | Category | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | PIQUANCY | KICK, PUNCH, ZEST, ZING |
| Green | AVAILABLE | FREE, SINGLE, SOLO, STAG |
| Blue | MALE ANIMALS | BILLY, BUCK, JACK, RAM |
| Purple | CHINESE DYNASTIES | HAN, MING, SONG, TANG |
Why STAG is in AVAILABLE
STAG can mean a male deer, which makes it look like a natural fit with BILLY, BUCK, and RAM. In this puzzle, it means attending an event alone or without a date, matching FREE, SINGLE, and SOLO instead. The alternate reading is plausible; recognizing the intended sense is the key to this overlap trap.
How Connections works
The New York Times Help Center describes Connections as a game in which players receive 16 words and find four groups of four that share something in common. The groups are color-coded from yellow, the easiest, to purple, the trickiest. Some words can seem to fit more than one theme, and the NYT says editors curate words and categories using the Oxford Dictionary. Read the NYT Connections help page.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where to play and find older puzzles
The daily game becomes available at midnight in the player’s timezone. The NYT Help Center lists the Games app, nytimes.com/games/connections, nytimes.com/theathletic, and the News app as places to play. The game is free; an NYT account is recommended if you want progress to carry across platforms. The NYT Help Center explains how to play Connections.
The NYT archive reaches back to June 12, 2023, and is available to All Access and Games subscribers. An NYT account is needed to retain archived progress. Archived play affects some player statistics but not current or maximum streaks, and a completed archived puzzle cannot be replayed. See the NYT Connections archive details.
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