NYT Connections hints and answers for today (24 May 2025)

NYT Connections is back again with another thrilling puzzle for today. Are you stuck in today’s NYT Connections puzzle? You are not alone. Puzzle #713 for Saturday, May 24, is proving to be quite the brain teaser. If the grid of 16 words has you squinting suspiciously at “bib” and “jet,” fear not—we’ve got you covered. Whether you’re one guess away from a win or already staring at the dreaded “you lose” screen, we’re here to walk you through helpful hints and the final answers. Try to solve it yourself first, but if you need a gentle nudge (or the full spoiler), read on.

What is NYT Connections
Connections is one of the New York Times’ latest word games that has gained serious popularity. The game challenges players to group 16 seemingly random words into four related categories. These groupings might be thematic, functional, linguistic, or even pop culture-based. Each new day brings a fresh set of words, with increasing difficulty as you go from yellow to purple.

How to play NYT Connections
To play, visit the New York Times Games section on your browser or mobile device. You will see 16 words on a grid. Your goal is to find four groups of four words that share a common link. The categories might relate to objects, actions, names, or more subtle relationships. Select four words you think go together and hit submit. If they are correct, they get cleared from the board. You only get four chances to make mistakes, so be careful. Shuffling the board may help you spot connections more easily. Each group is color-coded by difficulty:

Yellow: Easiest
Green: Moderate
Blue: Hard
Purple: Trickiest


Today's NYT Connections hints
If you want a light hint to help push you in the right direction, here are the thematic clues for each group:

• Yellow: Found in a nursery, a baby’s stuff
• Green: Bottoms without s
• Blue: Played in the Big Apple
• Purple: Icons of African American literature

Today's categoriesNow that you have the hints, here are the official category names used in today’s puzzle:

Yellow: Baby gear
Green: Kinds of pants minus "s"
Blue: New York sports team members

Purple: Black women authors

Today's answersReady for the full answers? Here’s how the puzzle breaks down:
Baby gear: bib, bottle, monitor, stroller
Kinds of pants minus "s" : capri, jean, jogger, slack
New York sports team members: jet, met, net, ranger
Black women authors: butler, gay, hooks, walker

Explanation of answers
The yellow group focuses on baby gear, making life a little easier for new parents. Bib, bottle, monitor, and stroller are all nursery essentials. These are the items every new caregiver recognizes and probably scrambles to find on short notice.

The green group had a clever twist. Capri, jean, jogger, and slack are all types of pants but notably listed without the usual “s” at the end. It is a common NYT Connections trick to remove plural forms for the sake of symmetry and ambiguity.
The blue group will hit home for any sports fan in New York. Jet, Met, Net, and Ranger all reference major league teams in football, baseball, basketball, and hockey respectively. They are listed in singular form, representing individual players.

The purple group pays tribute to literary brilliance. Butler (Octavia E. Butler), Gay (Roxane Gay), Hooks (bell hooks), and Walker (Alice Walker) are all renowned Black women authors whose work has had deep cultural and intellectual impact. If you’re unfamiliar with their writing, this puzzle is a good excuse to start reading.

Check back tomorrow for the next puzzle and more clues. Happy Connection!