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Spoiler warning: This page includes the hints and complete answers for NYT Connections puzzle #680, published Monday, April 21, 2025. “Today” is retained from the historical search title and does not mean this is the current daily puzzle.
Spoiler warning: The complete answers to NYT Connections puzzle #680 appear below.
NYT Connections #680 was published on Monday, April 21, 2025. Although this page uses “today” because it matches the original daily-puzzle search title, this is a guide to that specific historical puzzle—not the current daily game. Connections releases a new puzzle at midnight in the player’s local time, so readers near a time-zone boundary may see a different date.
In Connections, you must divide 16 words into four groups of four. Each group has a shared connection, while misleading overlaps are deliberately included to make some words appear to fit more than one category. The game’s groups are color-coded from yellow, the most straightforward, through purple, the most difficult. The New York Times describes the game’s basic format here.
NYT Connections #680 hints for April 21
Here are progressive clues without immediately giving away the word groups:
- Yellow: Look at information printed on food packages and drink containers.
- Green: Think of expressions for an unexpected or shocking development.
- Blue: Think about terms used in Excel or Google Sheets.
- Purple: Think of objects, substances, or structures with a spiral or twisted form.
More explicit category clues
- Yellow: Four words are commonly found in nutrition facts information.
- Green: Four words can describe an unexpected event or surprise.
- Blue: Four words name parts or components of a spreadsheet.
- Purple: Four words describe things with a helical, coiled, or spiral form.
NYT Connections #680 answers
These are the four completed groups for Monday, April 21, 2025:
Rank #2
| Color | Category | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | INFO ON A NUTRITION LABEL | FAT, IRON, PROTEIN, SODIUM |
| Green | METAPHOR FOR SOMETHING UNEXPECTED | BOMBSHELL, CURVEBALL, TWIST, WRENCH |
| Blue | THINGS YOU CAN INSERT INTO A SPREADSHEET | CELL, COLUMN, ROW, SHEET |
| Purple | HELICAL THINGS | CORKSCREW, DNA, FUSILLI, SPRING |
The complete word bank was: CELL, IRON, TWIST, SHEET, SPRING, WRENCH, PROTEIN, CORKSCREW, DNA, CURVEBALL, COLUMN, SODIUM, BOMBSHELL, ROW, FAT, and FUSILLI.
Why these Connections groups work
Yellow: INFO ON A NUTRITION LABEL
FAT, IRON, PROTEIN, and SODIUM are all familiar entries in the nutrition-facts information printed on packaged food and beverages. The group is relatively direct, but IRON and PROTEIN can also invite broader associations with health or physical strength.
Rank #3
Green: METAPHOR FOR SOMETHING UNEXPECTED
A BOMBSHELL can be shocking news, while a CURVEBALL is an unexpected challenge or development. A TWIST changes the expected direction of a story, and a WRENCH can represent something that disrupts a plan, as in “throw a wrench in the works.” These words mix literal objects or actions with figurative meanings, making the category easier to miss.
Blue: THINGS YOU CAN INSERT INTO A SPREADSHEET
CELL, COLUMN, ROW, and SHEET are all standard spreadsheet terms. A cell is an individual box, rows run horizontally, columns run vertically, and a sheet is an individual worksheet within a spreadsheet file. This is the software-oriented group hinted at by Excel and Google Sheets.
Purple: HELICAL THINGS
CORKSCREW, DNA, FUSILLI, and SPRING each has a spiral, coil, or helical form. A corkscrew and spring are visibly coiled; fusilli is a spiral-shaped pasta; and DNA is commonly represented as a double helix. This abstract category is the likeliest to attract false matches from words such as TWIST or CURVEBALL.
Want more Connections puzzles?
For an offline follow-up, the Connections puzzle book from The New York Times Games and Wyna Liu offers additional category-matching puzzles in physical form. The publisher lists the book under ISBN 9798893312607; availability and price can vary by seller. There is no basis here to claim that it includes puzzle #680.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesHow the daily Connections date works
Every Connections puzzle contains 16 words that must be separated into four groups of four. Because the next puzzle becomes available at midnight in each player’s time zone, someone checking around midnight may encounter a date that differs from the date shown in another guide. For this page, the relevant entry is specifically Puzzle #680, published Monday, April 21, 2025.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was NYT Connections puzzle #680 released?
NYT Connections puzzle #680 was published on Monday, April 21, 2025. The game releases at midnight in each player’s local time, so the date can differ near time-zone boundaries.
What were the categories in Connections #680?
The four categories were INFO ON A NUTRITION LABEL; METAPHOR FOR SOMETHING UNEXPECTED; THINGS YOU CAN INSERT INTO A SPREADSHEET; and HELICAL THINGS.
The Bottom Line
NYT Connections #680 answers: FAT, IRON, PROTEIN, SODIUM; BOMBSHELL, CURVEBALL, TWIST, WRENCH; CELL, COLUMN, ROW, SHEET; and CORKSCREW, DNA, FUSILLI, SPRING.
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