If you’re looking for the Connections answer for Wednesday, December 24, 2025, read on—I’ll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solutions to all four categories. Along the way, I’ll explain the meanings of the trickier words and we’ll learn how everything fits together. Beware, there are spoilers below for December 24, NYT Connections #927! Read on if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today’s Connections game.
If you want an easy way to come back to our Connections hints every day, bookmark this page. (If you play Wordle, Strands, or Quordle, check out our hints for those games, too.)
Below, I’ll give you some oblique hints at today’s Connections answers. And farther down the page, I’ll reveal the themes and the answers. Scroll slowly and take just the hints you need!
Credit: Connections/NYT
The category types in today’s Connections puzzleHere are spoiler-free hints that describe the type of each category in today’s Connections:
Yellow category - Synonyms.
Green category - Synonyms.
Blue category - Related nouns.
Purple category - Wordplay.
Hints for the themes in today’s Connections puzzleHere are some spoiler-free hints for the groupings in today’s Connections:
Yellow category - What you earn for putting in work.
Green category - Mealtime verbs.
Blue category - They swim.
Purple category - They he an extra letter, hiding their inner verbs.
BEWARE: Spoilers follow for today’s Connections puzzle!We’re about to give away some of the answers. Scroll slowly if you don’t want the whole thing spoiled. (The full solution is a bit further down.)
A heads up about the tricky partsI thought I was being very cultured and clever by grouping WHISTLER, BACON, MUNCH, and POLLOCK as artist last names, but that’s not a category today—they all belong to different categories.
CHAMP is a verb that basically means the same as “chomp.” (I had never heard that before.)
BREAD is a slang term that belongs in the phrase “let’s get this BREAD,” which someone might say before closing a lucrative deal.
If SOLE and TANG made you think of Connections’ oft-repeated fish categories, you’re on the right track.
What are the categories in today’s Connections?Yellow: SLANG FOR MONEY
Green: MASTICATE
Blue: FISH
Purple: WAYS TO VOCALIZE MUSICALLY PLUS A LETTER
DOUBLE BEWARE: THE SOLUTION IS BELOWReady to learn the answers to today’s Connections puzzle? I give them all away below.
What are the yellow words in today’s Connections?The yellow grouping is considered to be the most straightforward. The theme for today’s yellow group is SLANG FOR MONEY and the words are: BACON, BREAD, CHEESE, PAPER.
What are the green words in today’s Connections?The green grouping is supposed to be the second-easiest. The theme for today’s green category is MASTICATE and the words are: BITE, CHAMP, CHEW, MUNCH.
What are the blue words in today’s Connections?The blue grouping is the second-hardest. The theme for today’s blue category is FISH and the words are: CHAR, POLLOCK, SOLE, TANG.
What are the purple words in today’s Connections? The Daily Newsletter Ready to do everything better? Get daily tips, tricks, and tech guides from our expert team. By clicking Sign Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.The purple grouping is considered to be the hardest. The theme for today’s purple category is WAYS TO VOCALIZE MUSICALLY PLUS A LETTER and the words are: HUMP, RAPT, SINGE, WHISTLER.
How I solved today’s ConnectionsI’m tempted to pair MUNCH and CHEW, but I see that MUNCH (of The Scream fame could also go with POLLOCK and WHISTLER. Not sure about a fourth. I thought CHAMP at first, but I’m thinking of Duchamp. Oh, maybe BACON is Francis BACON. Nope! I’ve been fooled.
TANG and SOLE could be types of fish. I almost put POLLOCK with them, but I think I’m thinking of haddock.
Oh, I bet HUM, SINGE, WHISTLER, and RAPT go together as words that start with vocal performance words: hum, sing, whistle, rap. 🟪
I think BACON, BREAD, PAPER, and CHEESE might go together as terms for money—that’s a category Connections likes to use a lot. 🟨
What do you think so far?BITE, MUNCH, and CHEW must go together as synonymous verbs, but I’m not sure about a fourth yet.
I guess POLLOCK is a kind of fish. I’ll put it with TANG and SOLE.
Now I just he to figure out where CHAMP and CHAR fit: One is a verb and one is a fish. I think CHAMP makes more sense as a verb (maybe like “chomp”?) so let’s try CHAMP, BITE, CHEW, MUNCH. 🟩 After a quick Google, it appears CHAMP is just another word for “chomp.” OK!
That means CHAR is the last fish to go with POLLOCK, TANG, and SOLE. 🟦
Connections Puzzle #927 🟩🟦🟨🟪 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦 How to play ConnectionsI he a full guide to playing Connections, but here’s a refresher on the rules:
First, find the Connections game either on the New York Times website or in their Games app (formerly the Crossword app). You’ll see a game board with 16 tiles, each with one word or phrase. Your job is to select a group of four tiles that he something in common. Often they are all the same type of thing (for example: RAIN, SLEET, HAIL, and SNOW are all types of wet weather) but sometimes there is wordplay involved (for example, BUCKET, GUEST, TOP TEN, and WISH are all types of lists: bucket list, guest list, and so on).
Select four items and hit the Submit button. If you guessed correctly, the category and color will be revealed. (Yellow is easiest, followed by green, then blue, then purple.) If your guess was incorrect, you’ll get a chance to try again.
You win when you’ve correctly identified all four groups. But if you make four mistakes before you finish, the game ends and the answers are revealed.
How to win ConnectionsThe most important thing to know to win Connections is that the groupings are designed to be tricky. Expect to see overlapping groups. For example, one puzzle seemed to include six breakfast foods: BACON, EGG, PANCAKE, OMELET, WAFFLE, and CEREAL. But BACON turned out to be part of a group of painters along with CLOSE, MUNCH, and WHISTLER, and EGG was in a group of things that come by the dozen (along with JUROR, ROSE, and MONTH). So don’t hit “submit” until you’ve confirmed that your group of four contains only those four things.
If you’re stuck, another strategy is to look at the words that seem to he no connection to the others. If all that comes to mind when you see WHISTLER is the painting nicknamed “Whistler’s Mother,” you might be on to something. When I solved that one, I ended up googling whether there was a painter named Close, because Close didn’t fit any of the obvious themes, either.
Another way to win when you’re stuck is, obviously, to read a few helpful hints–which is why we share these pointers every day. Check back tomorrow for the next puzzle!
Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Connections.