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This archived guide covers the New York Times Connections puzzle for Sunday, May 4, 2025, game #693—not the current daily puzzle. Start with the 16-word grid, then reveal as much help as you need. The complete groups are below a spoiler warning.
The 16 words in Connections #693
CHEWY · NOODLE · CARS · DARTH · JAM · BOBA · TOUGH · SHRED · SOLO · DRY · SUGAR · BLUTO · TEA · GENUS · STRINGY · MILK
Connections asks players to sort 16 words into four groups of four that share a connection. A word may seem to fit more than one theme, but the puzzle has one intended solution. See the NYT Help Center’s Connections guide for the rules.
Progressive hints for May 4
Try each clue before moving to the next. They become more specific, but do not give away the complete groups.
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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11- Yellow: Think of unpleasant descriptions for meat cooked too long.
- Green: Think of actions associated with playing electric guitar.
- Blue: Think of a popular tea-shop drink and ingredients that go into it.
- Purple: Think of planet and dwarf-planet names whose first letters have been changed.
Full Connections #693 answers
Spoilers below: the category labels and all four word groups are revealed here.
- Yellow — Qualities of overcooked meat: CHEWY, DRY, STRINGY, TOUGH.
- Green — Play some electric guitar: JAM, NOODLE, SHRED, SOLO.
- Blue — Ingredients in bubble tea: BOBA, MILK, SUGAR, TEA.
- Purple — Planets/dwarf planets with first letter changed: BLUTO, CARS, DARTH, GENUS.
How the trickiest group works
The purple words each alter the first letter of a planet or dwarf planet name: Pluto becomes BLUTO, Mars becomes CARS, Earth becomes DARTH, and Venus becomes GENUS. They are wordplay answers, not actual planet names.
Rank #2
Why the date can differ by timezone
The May 4, 2025 date identifies this archived puzzle, game #693. The New York Times says Connections releases daily at midnight in the player’s timezone, so players in different timezones may encounter a new puzzle on different local calendar dates. The game is available through the NYT Games app, NYTimes.com, The Athletic, and the News app. The Help Center says the full archive is available to All Access and Games subscribers and dates back to June 12, 2023; access terms can change.
Independent May 4 guides from TechRadar and ComicBook.com report the same grid and solutions.
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