These are the hints and answers for the New York Times Connections puzzle from Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, game #903. Read the hints first if you want to solve it yourself; the full groups and words follow the spoiler warning.
How Connections works
Connections asks you to sort 16 words into four groups of four that share a link. Try Hard Guides describes the game as allowing up to four mistakes and presenting one puzzle each day, resetting at midnight local time; that is the guide’s description of the gameplay.
Progressive hints for puzzle #903
Stop here if you want to avoid seeing the answers. These clues move from broad ideas toward the more revealing wordplay:
- Think of ways to endure or put up with something.
- Another group describes a dismal failure—the opposite of success.
- Look for fictional characters associated with skull-and-crossbones crews.
- The final group’s words sound colorful.
Spoilers: Nov. 30 Connections answers
The complete solutions are below.
Yellow: TOLERATE
BEAR, STAND, STOMACH, SWALLOW
Green: FLOP
BUST, LEMON, MISS, TURKEY
Blue: FICTIONAL PIRATES
HOOK, LUFFY, SILVER, SPARROW
Purple: ENDING IN COLOR HOMOPHONES
CAMEROON, COCKATIEL, UNREAD, WHISTLEBLEW
The last set uses the sounds at the ends of the words: maroon in Cameroon, teal in cockatiel, red in unread, and blue in whistleblew. These are spoken color-name homophones, rather than color words spelled out at the ends.
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The full 16-word board
COCKATIEL, LEMON, HOOK, SWALLOW, SPARROW, UNREAD, TURKEY, STAND, MISS, BEAR, CAMEROON, SILVER, WHISTLEBLEW, STOMACH, BUST, LUFFY.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why the last group can be tricky
The first two groups are built from familiar meanings: words for tolerating something and words for a failure. The pirate set is based on character names. The purple group changes the task from matching meanings to listening for a sound embedded at each word’s ending, which can make it harder to spot on a written board.
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