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NYT Connections puzzle #781 was published on Thursday, July 31, 2025. Its central trick is that every group completes a phrase with one positional word: FIRST, SECOND, THIRD or LAST. Use the spoiler levels below to choose how much help you want.
Hints for Connections #781
Category-only hints
- Yellow: FIRST ___
- Green: SECOND ___
- Blue: THIRD ___
- Purple: LAST ___
One-word nudges
- Yellow: AID
- Green: COMING
- Blue: EYE
- Purple: LAUGH
Full answer and explanations
| Color | Group | Tiles | Completed phrases |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow | FIRST ___ | AID, LADY, NATIONS, RESPONDER | First aid is emergency help; a first lady is the customary title for a president’s or prime minister’s spouse; First Nations refers to Indigenous peoples in Canada; a first responder is a trained emergency worker. |
| Green | SECOND ___ | COMING, FIDDLE, GUESS, NATURE | The Second Coming is the Christian belief that Jesus will return; second fiddle means a subordinate role; to second-guess is to doubt a decision; second nature is an ingrained habit or skill. |
| Blue | THIRD ___ | EYE, PARTY, RAIL, ROCK | A third eye is an alleged inner faculty of perception; a third party is an additional participant in a transaction or contract; the third rail is an electrified railway power rail; “third rock” means Earth, the third planet from the Sun. |
| Purple | LAST ___ | LAUGH, RESORT, STRAW, SUPPER | The last laugh means ultimate triumph; a last resort is a final option; the last straw is the final intolerable incident; the Last Supper is the final meal Jesus shared with his apostles before his crucifixion. |
How to solve the board
- Spot the obvious FIRST phrases: first aid, first lady and first responder. First Nations completes the set.
- Look for the clean LAST group: last laugh, last resort, last straw and Last Supper.
- With those eight tiles removed, divide the remainder between SECOND and THIRD. The remaining phrases form the two groups exactly.
How Connections works
The NYT game presents 16 words and asks you to sort them into four groups of four. Groups are color-coded by difficulty. An incorrect submission costs one of your four allowed mistakes; the game ends after the fourth mistake. Puzzle #781 is playable through the NYT Games website or app.
Publication details
This was the Thursday, July 31, 2025 edition, numbered #781. Daily games go live at midnight local time, according to Forbes contributor Kris Holt’s July 30, 2025 guide.
Quick Recap
Rank #2
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