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NYT Connections #872, published for Thursday, October 30, 2025, has four groups: terms of endearment, fiction genres, collective nouns for birds, and surnames paired with U.S.-city first names. The full answers are ANGEL, LOVE, PUMPKIN, SUGAR; FANTASY, HORROR, MYSTERY, ROMANCE; CHARM, GAGGLE, MURDER, PARLIAMENT; and BLOOM, BUTLER, GUTHRIE, LEVY.
Spoilers ahead for NYT Connections #872. The hints below move from least revealing to most direct, followed by the complete solution and explanations.
Key takeaways
- NYT Connections puzzle #872 was published for Thursday, October 30, 2025.
- The yellow category is terms of endearment: ANGEL, LOVE, PUMPKIN, and SUGAR.
- The green category is fiction genres: FANTASY, HORROR, MYSTERY, and ROMANCE.
- The blue category is collective nouns for birds: CHARM, GAGGLE, MURDER, and PARLIAMENT.
- The purple category is people whose first names are U.S. cities: BLOOM, BUTLER, GUTHRIE, and LEVY.
Spoilers ahead for NYT Connections #872. Stop before the full answers section if you still want to solve the Thursday, October 30, 2025 puzzle yourself.
What are the NYT Connections #872 hints for Thursday, October 30?
The NYT Connections #872 hints point to affectionate nicknames, bookstore-style fiction categories, unusual names for groups of birds, and surnames belonging to people whose first names are U.S. cities. The clues become progressively more specific, so try the lightest hint first before checking the one-word reveals.
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| Category | Light hint | One-word reveal |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | Names you might call someone you love | PUMPKIN |
| Green | Broad categories found in a bookstore or library | FANTASY |
| Blue | Special words for groups of particular birds | GAGGLE |
| Purple | Surnames that become recognizable full names when paired with city first names | BUTLER |
What are the Connections #872 categories?
The four Connections #872 categories are TERMS OF ENDEARMENT, FICTION GENRES, COLLECTIVE NOUNS FOR BIRDS, and PEOPLE WHOSE FIRST NAMES ARE U.S. CITIES. The category structure and answer list were independently reported by dated answer guides from Parade, TechRadar, and Forbes.
| Difficulty color | Category | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | Terms of endearment | ANGEL, LOVE, PUMPKIN, SUGAR |
| Green | Fiction genres | FANTASY, HORROR, MYSTERY, ROMANCE |
| Blue | Collective nouns for birds | CHARM, GAGGLE, MURDER, PARLIAMENT |
| Purple | People whose first names are U.S. cities | BLOOM, BUTLER, GUTHRIE, LEVY |
How does NYT Connections work?
NYT Connections gives players 16 words and asks them to divide the words into four groups of four that share something in common. The official New York Times Help Center explanation of Connections says the four groups are marked yellow, green, blue, and purple, with yellow intended as the easiest category and purple as the most difficult. A new puzzle releases at midnight in the player’s timezone.
What are the full NYT Connections #872 answers?
The full NYT Connections #872 answers are ANGEL, BLOOM, BUTLER, CHARM, FANTASY, GAGGLE, GUTHRIE, HORROR, LEVY, LOVE, MURDER, MYSTERY, PARLIAMENT, PUMPKIN, ROMANCE, and SUGAR.
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Yellow: TERMS OF ENDEARMENT
ANGEL, LOVE, PUMPKIN, SUGAR
Each word can be used as an affectionate form of address. The trap is that every entry also has a more literal or unrelated meaning: an angel can be a religious figure, sugar is a food, and pumpkin is a type of squash. In this group, their shared conversational use matters more than their dictionary meanings.
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FANTASY, HORROR, MYSTERY, ROMANCE
These are familiar fiction categories used to describe and organize books. This is the most direct group on the board once the four terms of endearment have been removed.
Blue: COLLECTIVE NOUNS FOR BIRDS
CHARM, GAGGLE, MURDER, PARLIAMENT
These words form a collection of traditional or literary collective nouns: a charm of goldfinches, a gaggle of geese, a murder of crows, and a parliament of owls. Merriam-Webster defines “gaggle” as a flock, especially a flock of geese, while its explanation of “a murder of crows” documents the historical collective-noun usage. A reference list from GPB’s Dictionary of Collective Nouns supplies the traditional bird pairings for charm and parliament.
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These expressions are not replacements for ordinary everyday language. “Flock” remains the general word for many groups of birds, while the Connections group depends on more specialized names.
Purple: PEOPLE WHOSE FIRST NAMES ARE U.S. CITIES
BLOOM, BUTLER, GUTHRIE, LEVY
The four entries are surnames. Add the intended first names and the wordplay resolves as follows:
| Board entry | Full name | City-name connection |
|---|---|---|
| BLOOM | Orlando Bloom | Orlando |
| BUTLER | Austin Butler | Austin |
| GUTHRIE | Arlo Guthrie | Arlo |
| LEVY | Eugene Levy | Eugene |
This is the hardest category because the board supplies only surnames, not the first names that reveal the connection. The intended matches are Orlando Bloom, Austin Butler, Arlo Guthrie, and Eugene Levy, as reflected in the dated answer reporting for puzzle #872.
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Why is Connections #872 difficult?
Connections #872 creates difficulty by giving ordinary words several plausible interpretations. ANGEL, LOVE, PUMPKIN, and SUGAR work as endearments, but angel, pumpkin, and sugar also suggest other categories. CHARM, MURDER, and PARLIAMENT initially look like abstract nouns rather than bird terminology.
The purple group adds a second layer of uncertainty. BLOOM, BUTLER, GUTHRIE, and LEVY are recognizable surnames, but solvers must supply Orlando, Austin, Arlo, and Eugene before the city-name pattern becomes visible. That makes the category more dependent on name recognition than on the surface meanings of the words.
What is the best order for solving Connections #872?
- Start with the fiction genres: FANTASY, HORROR, MYSTERY, and ROMANCE form a comparatively clear set.
- Separate the affectionate words: ANGEL, LOVE, PUMPKIN, and SUGAR are common terms of endearment.
- Look for the bird vocabulary: CHARM, GAGGLE, MURDER, and PARLIAMENT are all traditional collective nouns.
- Use elimination on the final four: BLOOM, BUTLER, GUTHRIE, and LEVY become the surname group, with Orlando, Austin, Arlo, and Eugene supplying the city-name connection.
How much help should you use?
The safest way to preserve the challenge is to stop at the first useful disclosure. A category-only clue keeps all 16 words available for solving; a one-word reveal confirms the intended direction without giving away every entry; the full solution provides the categories and all four words; and the explanation clarifies the two less familiar connections.
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| Help level | What it reveals | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Light hint | Category-style clue only | Solvers who want to keep the board mostly intact |
| Medium hint | One representative word from each group | Solvers stuck on the general directions |
| Full solution | All category names and four words per group | Readers checking a completed or abandoned solve |
| Explanation | Why the bird nouns and surname group fit | Readers who want the wordplay explained |
What can you play after Connections #872?
If you want more category-matching challenges after today’s grid, the official Connections puzzle book collects additional puzzles in print. Simon & Schuster describes the book as a collection for the Connections category-matching puzzle and credits Wyna Liu as a Connections puzzle editor. Availability and purchase options can vary by country.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was NYT Connections #872 published?
NYT Connections #872 was published for Thursday, October 30, 2025. The puzzle number and date refer to the same daily game.
What is the purple category in Connections #872?
The purple category in NYT Connections #872 is “People whose first names are U.S. cities.” Its answers are BLOOM, BUTLER, GUTHRIE, and LEVY, producing Orlando Bloom, Austin Butler, Arlo Guthrie, and Eugene Levy.
What are the bird answers in Connections #872?
The blue category is “Collective nouns for birds.” The four answers are CHARM, GAGGLE, MURDER, and PARLIAMENT.
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NYT Connections #872, published Thursday, October 30, 2025, groups its 16 words into terms of endearment, fiction genres, bird collective nouns, and surnames paired with U.S.-city first names. The most revealing final matches are Orlando Bloom, Austin Butler, Arlo Guthrie, and Eugene Levy.
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