NYT Connections Hint November 5: Today’s Puzzle Answers and Group Breakdown

The NYT Connections hint for November 5 brought an entertaining mix of categories, testing players’ ability to spot clever relationships across words. Puzzle #878 offered a balance of easy and tricky themes — from familiar phrases to pop-culture nods — and many players found it moderately challenging.

The puzzle, published early Wednesday, featured a combination of categories that appealed to both casual and devoted fans of The New York Times word games. Each color group followed its own theme, ranging from simple linguistic associations to music and weather-related phrases. Here’s a complete rundown of today’s clues, hints, and final answers for Connections #878.

NYT Connections November 5 Puzzle Answers Explained

For November 5, 2025, the yellow, green, blue, and purple groups each followed distinct logic. Below is the official breakdown of today’s NYT Connections answers with their respective categories and words.

Yellow Group – Make a Hash Of
The yellow category revolved around the theme “make a hash of,” focusing on verbs that mean to ruin or mess up something. The four answers were: blow, botch, butcher, spoil.

Green Group – Weapons in the Game Clue
Inspired by the iconic board game, this group tested players’ recall of its classic murder weapons. The four words were: candlestick, knife, rope, wrench.

Blue Group – Iconic Soul Singers
Music fans likely found this category enjoyable. The blue set honored legendary performers, including (Anita) Baker, (Roberta) Flack, (Aretha) Franklin, (Gladys) Knight.

Purple Group – Rain ____
The most cryptic group of the day centered on phrases that follow “rain.” The final four were: bow, coat, forest, maker.

Player Reactions and Strategy Notes

According to daily player discussions, today’s puzzle leaned easier than average, particularly due to the recognizable “Clue” and “soul singers” categories. However, some found the purple group tricky until they realized each word completed the phrase “rain ____.”

Fans also noted that the new Connections Bot—similar to the Wordle Bot—has made tracking streaks and accuracy more engaging, adding a competitive edge to each day’s challenge.

How to Improve Your NYT Connections Game

Experts suggest three reliable strategies for solving Connections efficiently. First, say each word aloud; this often helps reveal hidden patterns or phrases. Second, don’t assume obvious links are correct—editors frequently mislead with near-misses. Finally, try rearranging or shuffling the board to reset your focus if you feel stuck.

Today’s puzzle combined familiar pop-culture references and clever phrasing, rewarding both logic and word association skills. For those who solved all four groups, it was another satisfying entry in the NYT Connections series.

FYI (keeping you in the loop)-

Q1: What was the NYT Connections yellow group for November 5?

The yellow group was themed “make a hash of,” featuring blow, botch, butcher, and spoil.

Q2: Which category featured soul singers in today’s puzzle?

The blue group included Baker, Flack, Franklin, and Knight — all iconic soul artists.

Q3: What was the hardest group in Connections #878?

Most players found the purple group hardest, with rain bow, rain coat, rain forest, and rain maker.

Q4: What is the green category based on?

The green group featured weapons from the game Clue: candlestick, knife, rope, and wrench.

Q5: Where can you play NYT Connections?

You can play NYT Connections daily on The New York Times Games website or mobile app.