NYT Connections Puzzle #867 Stumps Players with Tricky Wordplay

The daily New York Times Connections puzzle challenged players on October 25, 2025. Puzzle #867 featured a difficult grid of 16 words. Many players struggled to find the four hidden categories.

The puzzle’s deceptive word associations required careful thought. According to The New York Times, the game tests vocabulary and lateral thinking.

Today’s Connections Categories Revealed

The answers for October 25 are now confirmed. The yellow category, deemed easiest, was “SWINDLE.” It included the words FLEECE, HOSE, HUSTLE, and SHAFT.

The green category was “DIGITAL WATCH FEATURES.” This group contained ALARM, DATE, LIGHT, and STOPWATCH. The blue category, “CONFER,” was harder to spot with words like ACCORD, AWARD, GRANT, and VEST.

Biopic Theme Adds Final Challenge

The most difficult purple category was “BEST ACTOR-WINNING BIOPICS.” This final group featured CAPOTE, LINCOLN, MILK, and RAY. These words reference films where actors won Oscars for portraying real people.

This category tripped up many solvers. It required specific knowledge of award-winning films and their titles.

The October 25th puzzle proved that a simple word list can hide complex themes. Success in NYT Connections demands both a broad vocabulary and sharp pattern recognition.

Info at your fingertips

What were the hints for today’s NYT Connections?

The category hints were Yellow: Using deception or trickery, Green: Properties found in mobile phones, Blue: Giving something, and Purple: Major American personalities. These clues pointed players toward the final answers.

How difficult was the October 25 Connections puzzle?

Based on player feedback, the puzzle was quite challenging. It has been rated a 4 out of 5 for difficulty. The purple biopic category was particularly tough for many.

What does “One Away” mean in Connections?

This message appears when you have three correct words in a group. It means you are very close, but one word does not belong in that specific category.

What do the different colors represent in the game?

The colors indicate the difficulty level of each category. Yellow is the easiest, green is medium, blue is hard, and purple is the most challenging group to find.

Can you play past Connections puzzles?

Yes, you can access previous games through the official New York Times Connections archives. This allows players to practice with older puzzles at any time.