SECRET and PRIVATE were hush-hush words for the yellow group.
State abbreviations like MA and OK held the green group.
BED and BEE went with "Queen" to make the purple group.
Today’s NYT Connections puzzle has just the right blend of trickiness and fun to keep the brain fired up. Let’s switch gears and solve today’s word challenge. Here is how to break the puzzle all down with hints, insights, and the full set of NYT Connections answers for July 25, 2025.
Every day, each group is offered 16 words, and the task is to sort them into four groups of four based on a hidden connection. Categories range from pop culture to homophones, and sometimes the trickiest are the ones that sound the same but have different meanings.
Yellow — easiest
Green — moderate
Blue — tricky
Purple — usually the most difficult, often with wordplay involved
Let’s take a closer look at what July 25 had in store.
OH, MARY, FAIR, MOTHER, MUM, BEE, IN, OUT, MA, BALL, BED, SECRET, FOUL, QUIET, OK, PRIVATE
At first glance, a lot of these seem to reference moms (MUM, MOTHER, MA). But look a little deeper, and one can find a few curveballs and clever disguises.
Yellow group — on the down low
Green group — like HI, PR, and OR
Blue group — calls you might hear in a baseball game
Purple group — think "Queen ________"
Need a little boost? Here’s a nudge:
Yellow — QUIET
Green — OK
Blue — OUT
Purple — BED
Yellow group—Hush-Hush: MUM, PRIVATE, QUIET, SECRET
Green group—State Abbreviations: IN, MA, OH, OK
Blue group—Baseball Calls: BALL, FAIR, FOUL, OUT
Purple group—Queen _____: BED, BEE, MARY, MOTHER
The yellow group was a gentle warm-up. "Mum's the word," "keep it quiet," "it's a secret," and "private matters" all pointed to the idea of discretion. No surprises there.
Next up was the green group. At first, these two-letter combos might seem random, but once you realize they're state abbreviations — Indiana (IN), Massachusetts (MA), Ohio (OH), and Oklahoma (OK) — it's an easy connection.
Then came the blue group, and it was a real home run for baseball fans. BALL, STRIKE, FOUL, OUT—wait, not strike? Instead, FAIR joins the call sheet, rounding out a neat set of terms heard in every ballpark.
Finally, the purple group took a little finesse. BED, MOTHER, MARY, and BEE all pair with "queen" — queen bee, queen bed, Queen Mary, and mother as the queen of the family. Elegant and clever.
Today’s puzzle had a nice rhythm to it: one obvious group, one that tested general knowledge, one for sports fans, and one that required metaphorical thinking. A well-rounded and satisfying challenge. And hey, if you solved this one perfectly, you're going into the weekend with the streak intact!
Be sure to swing back tomorrow for the latest edition of NYT Connections Today with fresh hints and answers for July 26. Until then, keep connecting!