Spoiler warning: These are the hints and answers for NYT Connections puzzle #825, labeled September 13, 2025. If you are still solving, start with the gentle clues below and stop before the solution section.
The puzzle asks you to divide 16 words into four groups of four. Each word must be used once, and the standard game gives you up to four incorrect guesses.
Gentle hints for Connections #825
Here are the four groups without giving away their category names:
- Yellow: Four words can describe something significant, essential, or central.
- Green: Four words relate to something personal, intimate, internal, or not publicly shared.
- Blue: Four words are currencies or terms associated with currency used in different parts of the world.
- Purple: Four words can follow “Buffalo” to make a familiar name, phrase, or food.
A useful early move is to test CRITICAL, KEY, MAJOR, and PRINCIPAL together. They are close semantic matches for “important.” Be careful with BILL and NICKEL: both look like money words, but they belong elsewhere.
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The 16 words in the September 13 puzzle
The complete grid was:
BILL CRITICAL DOLLAR INNER
KEY MAJOR NICKEL PERSONAL
POUND PRINCIPAL PRIVATE SECRET
SOLDIER STERLING WING WON
More specific clues
If the first hints were not enough, these narrower clues should make the intended groupings clearer:
- Important: These words can mean essential, crucial, significant, or primary.
- Intimate and undisclosed: These words can describe information, feelings, or matters that are individual or concealed from public view.
- Global currencies: One is associated with the United States and several other countries, one is used for British currency, one is a British currency term, and one is the currency of South Korea.
- Buffalo ___: Complete four familiar expressions, including a famous frontiersman, a coin, a military expression, and a food.
Spoilers: the Connections #825 answers
The four completed groups are:
Yellow: IMPORTANT
CRITICAL, KEY, MAJOR, PRINCIPAL
Each word can indicate importance or centrality. Something critical is essential or decisive; a key factor is crucial; a major issue is significant; and the principal element is primary or foremost.
Green: INTIMATE AND UNDISCLOSED
INNER, PERSONAL, PRIVATE, SECRET
These words point toward matters that are internal, individual, not public, or deliberately concealed. “Inner” can refer to private thoughts or feelings, while “personal” and “private” describe matters belonging to an individual. Something “secret” is deliberately kept from others.
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Blue: GLOBAL CURRENCIES
DOLLAR, POUND, STERLING, WON
A dollar is the currency name used by the United States and several other countries. A pound is used as a currency name in places including the United Kingdom. Sterling specifically evokes British currency, especially pound sterling. Won is the currency of South Korea.
The pairing of POUND and STERLING is intentional: both point toward British money, but they are separate entries in the currency category. That group is made harder by the presence of BILL and NICKEL, which also suggest money.
Purple: BUFFALO ___
BILL, NICKEL, SOLDIER, WING
These words complete four familiar expressions:
- Buffalo Bill — the well-known name associated with William F. Cody.
- Buffalo nickel — the common name for a U.S. five-cent coin design.
- Buffalo Soldier — a historical military expression and name.
- Buffalo wing — the spicy chicken-wing dish.
Why the puzzle’s money decoy works
The main trap is the tempting set of money-related words. DOLLAR, POUND, NICKEL, and BILL can all make a solver think of U.S. or international money. But that proposed group cannot be the intended answer because the puzzle requires one exact partition of all 16 words.
STERLING is the clue that helps expose the correct currency group. Once DOLLAR, POUND, STERLING, and WON are recognized as currency terms, BILL and NICKEL are left to pair with SOLDIER and WING after “Buffalo.”
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesThis is a typical Connections distinction: a word may fit a plausible theme without fitting the intended group. “Bill” and “nickel” are not wrong associations; they are simply needed for a stronger, more specific pattern.
A practical way to approach puzzles like this
- Look for four near-synonyms. The important-word group is unusually direct here: CRITICAL, KEY, MAJOR, and PRINCIPAL all overlap strongly.
- Separate broad associations from exact patterns. Money-related words are easy to notice, but “Buffalo ___” is a more precise connection.
- Watch for paired words from the same subtheme. POUND and STERLING both suggest Britain, but that does not make one of them a decoy.
- Use the remaining words aggressively. Once the important and intimate/undisclosed groups are removed, BILL, NICKEL, SOLDIER, and WING reveal the Buffalo category.
- Do not submit a group merely because all four words can be defended. Connections rewards the intended relationship, not just a possible association.
Optional offline follow-up
For an offline follow-up, try the NYT Games Puzzle Mania! book, which includes new Connections-style puzzles along with activities inspired by Wordle, Spelling Bee, the Mini, and other New York Times Games. It is a separate 224-page hardcover collection and should not be assumed to contain puzzle #825 itself.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Frequently Asked Questions
What was the date and number of this NYT Connections puzzle?
The puzzle labeled September 13 was Connections #825, published for September 13, 2025. Daily puzzle dates can appear differently around midnight depending on a player’s local time zone.
What is the hardest Connections group in puzzle #825?
The Buffalo group is the most deceptive for many solvers because BILL and NICKEL initially look like currency words. The intended group is BILL, NICKEL, SOLDIER, and WING.
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Both are associated with British currency, but they are distinct words in the grid. The complete currency group is DOLLAR, POUND, STERLING, and WON.
Best Value
What are all four answers for Connections #825?
IMPORTANT: CRITICAL, KEY, MAJOR, PRINCIPAL. INTIMATE AND UNDISCLOSED: INNER, PERSONAL, PRIVATE, SECRET. GLOBAL CURRENCIES: DOLLAR, POUND, STERLING, WON. BUFFALO ___: BILL, NICKEL, SOLDIER, WING.
The Bottom Line
The answers for NYT Connections #825 are CRITICAL, KEY, MAJOR, PRINCIPAL; INNER, PERSONAL, PRIVATE, SECRET; DOLLAR, POUND, STERLING, WON; and BILL, NICKEL, SOLDIER, WING. The key trick is resisting the money decoy and recognizing the four “Buffalo ___” phrases.
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