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Need a nudge before you see the solutions? The Friday, March 21, 2025, NYT Connections puzzle is game #649. Read the four hints below first; the complete word groups are behind a spoiler warning farther down.
Hints for Connections #649
Connections asks players to sort 16 words into four groups of four based on a shared link. These clues move from broad to more revealing; stop when you have enough to keep solving.
- MILIEU: A person’s physical and social surroundings.
- LUMINARY: A word for someone notable or influential.
- ARCHITECTURAL DRAWING TOOLS: Items used to make plans or drawings in a particular field.
- BAR ___: Complete the phrase with a common three-letter word that can mean a long rod or a straight piece of wood or metal.
Full answer key — spoilers
Spoiler warning: The category names and all four word groups for puzzle #649 appear below.
| Category | Words |
|---|---|
| MILIEU | CIRCLE, SCENE, SPHERE, WORLD |
| LUMINARY | GREAT, ICON, LEGEND, LION |
| ARCHITECTURAL DRAWING TOOLS | COMPASS, RULER, STENCIL, T-SQUARE |
| BAR ___ | CHART, EXAM, MITZVAH, SOAP |
How the answers fit
- MILIEU: Circle, scene, sphere, and world can each refer to a person’s surroundings or social environment.
- LUMINARY: Great, icon, legend, and lion can each describe a notable or influential person.
- ARCHITECTURAL DRAWING TOOLS: A compass, ruler, stencil, and T-square are tools used in architectural drawing.
- BAR ___: The phrases are bar chart, bar exam, bar mitzvah, and bar soap.
Sources and date
TechRadar’s March 20, 2025 guide and Parade’s March 21, 2025 guide both identify this as puzzle #649 and list the same categories and word groups: TechRadar’s hints and answers and Parade’s hints and answers. They are editorial guides rather than an official NYT historical archive.
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Quick Recap
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- Includes: Scoreboard, 8 dry-erase slates, 250 doubled-sided word cue cards, rules
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