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This is the historical guide to NYT Connections puzzle #838, published Friday, September 26, 2025—not the current daily puzzle. Read the broad hints first, then reveal the category clues and full solution below.
Group hints
Each group contains four words connected by a shared idea. These clues keep the connections broad:
- Yellow: Mixing methods
- Green: Unclear
- Blue: Yogi’s relatives
- Purple: Opposite of “clean”
More explicit clues
- Yellow: STIR VIGOROUSLY
- Green: HARD TO MAKE OUT
- Blue: KINDS OF BEARS
- Purple: DIRTY____
All 16 words
BLONDE, SUN, WORD, PALE, DIM, CREAM, BROWN, RICE, BLACK, LIGHT, FAINT, BEAT, WHISK, POLAR, POOL, WHIP.
Answers for Connections #838
| Color | Category | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | STIR VIGOROUSLY | BEAT, CREAM, WHIP, WHISK |
| Green | HARD TO MAKE OUT | DIM, FAINT, LIGHT, PALE |
| Blue | KINDS OF BEARS | BLACK, BROWN, POLAR, SUN |
| Purple | DIRTY____ | BLONDE, POOL, RICE, WORD |
How Connections works
Connections asks players to sort 16 words into four groups of four, with each group sharing a category. The groups have different difficulty levels. NYT Games offers play on desktop and mobile; TechRadar reported that a new puzzle appears at midnight in each player’s time zone. Source: TechRadar, updated September 26, 2025.
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Quick Recap
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- Pick a Word Cue card, write the word you think best completes the phrase, and try to match it to anther player's word without giving a single hint
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