NYT Connections puzzle #815 was released on Wednesday, September 3, 2025. The groups are BEGINNING, JOIN, TV-related abbreviations in the ’80s, and MAY ___.
Spoiler warning: The complete 16-word grid and answers appear below. Use the hints first if you are still playing.
Hints for Connections #815
Connections asks you to divide 16 words into four groups of four. Each group has a shared connection, but some words are deliberately designed to fit more than one possible pattern.
For puzzle #815, try these clues in order:
- Yellow: Think about an origin, first moment, or starting point.
- Green: These words can describe bringing things or people together.
- Blue: Look for familiar abbreviations and entertainment-related names associated with television, video, or 1980s culture.
- Purple: Put each answer after the word “May.”
If you want a little more help without seeing the full solution, the four category ideas are Beginning, Join, TV-related abbreviations in the ’80s, and May ___.
#1 Best Overall
The 16 words in NYT Connections #815
Here is the complete grid:
ALF BIRTH BOND COMBINE DAWN DAY FLOWER FLY FUSE GENESIS MTV NES POLE START VHS WED
Before looking at the answer groups, notice the main traps. WED, NES, and DAY can all initially point toward Wednesday. Meanwhile, FLOWER, POLE, and FLY become useful only when the “May ___” phrase is recognized.
Answers for Connections #815
Yellow: BEGINNING
BIRTH, DAWN, GENESIS, START
Each word can refer to a beginning or origin. Birth is the beginning of a life, while dawn can mean the start of a day or the first appearance of something. Genesis is a formal or biblical word for origin, and start is the most direct general term for a beginning.
Rank #2
Green: JOIN
BOND, COMBINE, FUSE, WED
All four words can mean to join or unite. To bond or fuse is to connect things closely; to combine is to bring them together into one; and to wed, beyond its familiar marriage-related meaning, can mean to join or unite.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsWED is the likely misdirection here. Its everyday association with marriage can make it seem unrelated to the other verbs, but its broader meaning completes the group.
Blue: TV-related abbreviations in the ’80s
ALF, MTV, NES, VHS
This group brings together recognizable names and abbreviations from 1980s television, video, and entertainment technology:
- ALF was the title and name of the extraterrestrial character in the sitcom that ran from 1986 to 1990.
- MTV stands for Music Television, the music-video channel that became a major part of 1980s pop culture.
- NES stands for Nintendo Entertainment System, the home video-game console.
- VHS stands for Video Home System, the videotape format widely used for home viewing.
The category is intentionally broader than “television shows” or “video-game systems.” It depends on recognizing abbreviations and entertainment associations from the decade.
Purple: MAY ___
DAY, FLOWER, FLY, POLE
Place each word after May:
- May Day
- Mayflower
- mayfly
- maypole
The capitalization and spacing change slightly across these phrases, but the wordplay is the same: each tile completes a familiar term beginning with “May.” May Day is a holiday, the Mayflower was the ship associated with the Pilgrims’ 1620 voyage, a mayfly is an insect, and a maypole is traditionally used in May Day celebrations.
The Tool Desk
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The yellow and green groups provide the clearest semantic connections once words such as GENESIS, START, COMBINE, and FUSE are noticed. The remaining tiles are more deceptive.
The puzzle places several short words near one another that can evoke Wednesday: WED is a common abbreviation, while DAY and NES can look like fragments or references that might support the same idea. That apparent pattern is not one of the four categories.
The purple group is also difficult until the prefix construction appears. FLOWER, FLY, and POLE do not obviously belong together by meaning, but they all form established words or phrases with May. The blue group then asks you to accept a decade-and-entertainment connection rather than a single type of object.
Complete solution at a glance
| Category | Words |
|---|---|
| Beginning | BIRTH, DAWN, GENESIS, START |
| Join | BOND, COMBINE, FUSE, WED |
| TV-related abbreviations in the ’80s | ALF, MTV, NES, VHS |
| May ___ | DAY, FLOWER, FLY, POLE |
Keep playing offline
If you enjoy the category-matching format beyond the daily online puzzle, the official Connections: Find the Common Threads in 100+ Puzzles of Wit and Wordplay is a physical book from The New York Times Games and Wyna Liu. The publisher describes it as a hardcover collection with more than 100 puzzles and a $29.99 list price; retailer pricing can vary.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are the answers to NYT Connections #815 for September 3, 2025?
The four groups are BEGINNING—BIRTH, DAWN, GENESIS, START; JOIN—BOND, COMBINE, FUSE, WED; TV-related abbreviations in the ’80s—ALF, MTV, NES, VHS; and MAY ___—DAY, FLOWER, FLY, POLE.
What is the purple category in Connections #815?
The purple category is MAY ___. The answers are DAY, FLOWER, FLY, and POLE, creating May Day, Mayflower, mayfly, and maypole.
Why is WED in the JOIN category?
Although “wed” commonly refers to marriage, it can also mean to join or unite. That verb meaning places it with BOND, COMBINE, and FUSE.
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They are recognizable television, video, or entertainment-related names and abbreviations associated with 1980s culture: the ALF sitcom, MTV, the Nintendo Entertainment System, and VHS.
The Bottom Line
NYT Connections #815 uses familiar beginnings, joining verbs, 1980s entertainment abbreviations, and “May ___” phrases. The final groups are BIRTH, DAWN, GENESIS, START; BOND, COMBINE, FUSE, WED; ALF, MTV, NES, VHS; and DAY, FLOWER, FLY, POLE.
Quick Recap
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