Groups of Ten: BOWLING PINS, COMMANDMENTS, DECADE, FINGERS - each representing a set of ten, whether in sport, scripture, time, or anatomy.
Places with Lanes: BOWLING ALLEY, HIGHWAY, SUPERMARKET, SWIMMING POOL - locations where lanes guide movement, competition, or order.
NYC Landmarks: BOWLING GREEN, BROOKLYN BRIDGE, CITY HALL, WALL STREET - iconic stops in Lower Manhattan’s civic, historic, and financial heart.
The New York Times Connections puzzle continues to challenge wit and pattern recognition with its sly groupings and seductive misdirection. Tuesday’s puzzle (Puzzle #748) arrived just in time for the UK morning, sliding its way towards midday, the kind of hour when the second cup of coffee ceases from being optional to being necessary.
With caffeine in mind, today's grid appeared deceptively simple. ‘SUPERMARKET’ and ‘HIGHWAY’ suggested the mundane, while ‘CITY HALL’ and ‘BROOKLYN BRIDGE’ tipped toward the urban.
However, as experienced solvers know, NYT Connections hints take pleasure in concealing their reasoning beneath familiar guises. When the caffeine took hold, categories clicked into place, neat and tidy and sometimes playfully disarming.
Whether you zipped through in one sitting or took a shuffle or two, here’s the rundown of how today’s words fit together.
BOWLING BALL, CITY HALL, SUPERMARKET, BOWLING PINS, GOLF COURSE, BOWLING ALLEY, SPONGE, BOWLING GREEN, DECADE, HIGHWAY, WALL STREET, FINGERS, BROOKLYN BRIDGE, COLANDER, SWIMMING POOL, COMMANDMENTS
Sets of 10: BOWLING PINS, COMMANDMENTS, DECADE, FINGERS
A quartet of numbers, all united by the number ten, either literal (commandments, pins) or bodily (fingers).
Locations: BOWLING ALLEY, HIGHWAY, SUPERMARKET, SWIMMING POOL
Lines direct humans and pins from the highway to the supermarket checkout line.
Downtown NYC Landmarks: BOWLING GREEN, BROOKLYN BRIDGE, CITY HALL, WALL STREET
A whirlwind tour through Lower Manhattan's civic, historic, and financial landmarks. As it turns out, this alliterative list is not a coincidence.
Things with Holes: BOWLING BALL, COLANDER, GOLF COURSE, SPONGE
Their perforations, functional or frustrating, characterize all.
Today’s NYT Connections puzzle was a good balance of easy and tricky. ‘Groups of 10’ made itself clear early on, but ‘Places with Lanes’ required a little lateral thinking.
The NYC landmarks group punished those who didn’t have an internal map of Lower Manhattan, but ‘Things with Holes’ contained that familiar Connections wink.
For British solvers, it was the ideal late-morning puzzle, fast enough to get done before lunch, but filling enough to warrant that additional cup of coffee.
Until tomorrow, best connections.
Also Read: NYT Connections August 10, 2025: Hints, Tips, and Solutions