The New York Times’ popular daily word game, Connections, presented puzzle #746 on Thursday, June 26, 2025, challenging players to identify hidden links between 16 seemingly disparate words. This edition featured a mix of straightforward and notably tricky categories, testing solvers’ ability to spot both obvious and subtle connections.
For those unfamiliar with the game, Connections tasks players with sorting a grid of 16 words into four groups of four, each sharing a unique thematic link. The categories are color-coded by difficulty: yellow (easiest), green (easy), blue (medium), and purple (the most challenging, often involving wordplay). Players have up to four mistakes before the game ends.
Today’s words were: LOVELACE, ENIGMA, SEWING, SUITS, VENDING, HAWKING, DRESSING, MCQUEEN, GOLIATH, PROTEIN, PINBALL, DAMAGES, CHEESE, BOJACK, MATLOCK, LETTUCE.
Yellow Category: Components of a Salad
The yellow group, typically the most accessible, revolved around common ingredients found in a salad. Hints for this category included ‘elements of a healthy meal or side dish’ and ‘the makings of a popular lunch choice.’ The words that fit this theme were: CHEESE, DRESSING, LETTUCE, and PROTEIN. While lettuce and dressing are universally recognized salad components, the inclusion of ‘Cheese’ sparked some discussion among players, with TechRadar’s Johnny Dee questioning its commonality as a primary component, though it certainly adds to many popular salad varieties.
Green Category: Kinds of Machines
Moving to the green category, players were tasked with identifying different types of machines. Hints pointed towards ‘all mechanical’ or ‘a well-oiled _______.’ The four words in this group were: ENIGMA, PINBALL, SEWING, and VENDING. This category proved to be a classic ‘kinds of’ grouping, with words like ‘Enigma’ (referring to the Enigma machine) and ‘Sewing’ (as in a sewing machine) fitting alongside ‘Pinball’ and ‘Vending’ machines. Marloes Valentina Stella of Rock Paper Shotgun noted an initial misdirection, considering ‘arcade’ or ‘coin-operated’ machines before realizing the broader ‘machines’ theme.
Blue Category: Legal Dramas
The blue category delved into the world of television, specifically legal dramas. Clues such as ‘order in the (TV) court!’ and ‘TV lawyers’ guided players. The words forming this group were: DAMAGES, GOLIATH, MATLOCK, and SUITS. These are all titles of well-known legal television series. CNET highlighted that ‘Suits’ famously starred Meghan Markle, providing an additional, specific hint for some players. For others, like Forbes contributor Kris Holt, familiarity with ‘Damages,’ ‘Suits,’ and ‘Matlock’ made ‘Goliath’ the clear fourth, even if the show itself was unknown.
Purple Category: Ending with Playing Cards
As expected, the purple category presented the day’s trickiest challenge, relying on clever wordplay. Hints like ‘deal us in’ and ‘focus on the second half’ were crucial. The words were: BOJACK, HAWKING, LOVELACE, and MCQUEEN. The connection lay in the fact that each word ends with the name of a playing card: Bojack (Jack), Hawking (King), Lovelace (Ace), and McQueen (Queen). This type of hidden wordplay is a signature of the purple category, often requiring players to think outside the box. Game Rant’s Mina Smith noted that this category specifically required attention to the latter part of each word.
Overall, puzzle #746 offered a balanced challenge, with a relatively straightforward yellow category and a highly inventive purple one. Kris Holt of Forbes reported a ‘purple-first perfect game,’ extending an impressive 121-win streak, showcasing the satisfaction of cracking the trickiest category early. Whether you achieved a perfect score or learned from a few mistakes, today’s Connections provided a stimulating mental workout.
The New York Times releases a new Connections puzzle daily at midnight local time, available on their website or Games app. Players can also track their progress and access an archive of past puzzles with an NYT All Access or Games subscription.
