If you’re looking for the Connections answer for Thursday, April 24, 2025, read on—I’ll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solutions to all four categories. Along the way, I’ll explain the meanings of the trickier words and we’ll learn how everything fits together. Beware, there are spoilers below for April 24, NYT Connections #683! Read on if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today’s Connections game.
If you want an easy way to come back to our Connections hints every day, bookmark this page. You can also find our past hints there as well, in case you want to know what you missed in a previous puzzle.
Below, I’ll give you some oblique hints at today’s Connections answers. And farther down the page, I’ll reveal the themes and the answers. Scroll slowly and take just the hints you need!
Hints for the themes in today’s Connections puzzle
Here are some spoiler-free hints for the groupings in today’s Connections:
- Yellow category – They have the same color (or lack thereof).
- Green category – Salad bases.
- Blue category – Thorns in Bruce Wayne’s side.
- Purple category – They have a similar anatomical feature (sometimes metaphorically).
BEWARE: Spoilers follow for today’s Connections puzzle!
We’re about to give away some of the answers. Scroll slowly if you don’t want the whole thing spoiled. (The full solution is a bit further down.)
PENGUIN and POLAR BEAR do not go together.
ICEBERG is something you’ll find in the produce section at the grocery store.
JOKER has been played by many people over the years, but Heath Ledger’s version is probably my favorite.
Today’s purple category seemed particularly tough to me, but the other three are more straightforward (as long as you have some Batman knowledge).
What are the categories in today’s Connections?
- Yellow: THINGS THAT ARE WHITE
- Green: KINDS OF LETTUCE
- Blue: ”BATMAN” VILLAINS
- Purple: THEY HAVE LITERAL/IDIOMATIC EARS
DOUBLE BEWARE: THE SOLUTION IS BELOW
Ready to learn the answers to today’s Connections puzzle? I give them all away below.
What are the yellow words in today’s Connections?
The yellow grouping is considered to be the most straightforward. The theme for today’s yellow group is THINGS THAT ARE WHITE and the words are: BABY POWDER, MILK, POLAR BEAR, SNOW.
What are the green words in today’s Connections?
The green grouping is supposed to be the second-easiest. The theme for today’s green category is KINDS OF LETTUCE and the words are: BUTTER, ICEBERG, LEAF, ROMAINE.
What are the blue words in today’s Connections?
The blue grouping is the second-hardest. The theme for today’s blue category is ”BATMAN” VILLAINS and the words are: BANE, JOKER, PENGUIN, SCARECROW.
What are the purple words in today’s Connections?
The purple grouping is considered to be the hardest. The theme for today’s purple category is THEY HAVE LITERAL/IDIOMATIC EARS and the words are: CORNFIELD, MUSICIANS, PITCHERS, WALLS.
How I solved today’s Connections
ICEBERG and ROMAINE might go together as types of lettuce. BUTTER is also a type of lettuce. Hmm, is there a fourth? Maybe LEAF? I’ll set that aside until I’m more sure that LEAF doesn’t go somewhere else.
ICEBERG could also go with PENGUIN, SNOW, and POLAR BEAR as things found at the poles.
Oh man, and PENGUIN could also go with SCARECROW, BANE, and JOKER as Batman villains. So much overlap today!
I think I might try both the first and third categories, since the middle one is what has overlap. Let’s try PENGUIN, SCARECROW, BANE, and JOKER first. 🟦 Phew!
OK, now for ICEBERG, ROMAINE, BUTTER, and LEAF. 🟩
Maybe MILK, POLAR BEAR, WHITE, and BABY POWDER go together as things that are white. 🟨
That leaves WALLS, CORNFIELD, MUSICIANS, and PITCHERS. Hm, something with mazes? Throwing? Growing? Or maybe it’s something like “the subjects of famous paintings.” I’m not sure. 🟪 THEY HAVE LITERAL/IDIOMATIC EARS?
OK, so that means CORNFIELDS have “ears” of corn; MUSICIANS have good “ears” for hearing music; PITCHERS might refer to the saying “little PITCHERS have big ears”; and WALLS refers to the phrase “WALLS have ears,” meaning that one should be careful to not be overheard. (Apparently, baseball PITCHERS also wear electronic devices that transmit communications into their ears, but I don’t think that’s what this is referring to.)
Connections
Puzzle #683
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How to play Connections
I have a full guide to playing Connections, but here’s a refresher on the rules:
First, find the Connections game either on the New York Times website or in their Games app (formerly the Crossword app). You’ll see a game board with 16 tiles, each with one word or phrase. Your job is to select a group of four tiles that have something in common. Often they are all the same type of thing (for example: RAIN, SLEET, HAIL, and SNOW are all types of wet weather) but sometimes there is wordplay involved (for example, BUCKET, GUEST, TOP TEN, and WISH are all types of lists: bucket list, guest list, and so on).
Select four items and hit the Submit button. If you guessed correctly, the category and color will be revealed. (Yellow is easiest, followed by green, then blue, then purple.) If your guess was incorrect, you’ll get a chance to try again.
You win when you’ve correctly identified all four groups. But if you make four mistakes before you finish, the game ends and the answers are revealed.
How to win Connections
The most important thing to know to win Connections is that the groupings are designed to be tricky. Expect to see overlapping groups. For example, one puzzle seemed to include six breakfast foods: BACON, EGG, PANCAKE, OMELET, WAFFLE, and CEREAL. But BACON turned out to be part of a group of painters along with CLOSE, MUNCH, and WHISTLER, and EGG was in a group of things that come by the dozen (along with JUROR, ROSE, and MONTH). So don’t hit “submit” until you’ve confirmed that your group of four contains only those four things.
If you’re stuck, another strategy is to look at the words that seem to have no connection to the others. If all that comes to mind when you see WHISTLER is the painting nicknamed “Whistler’s Mother,” you might be on to something. When I solved that one, I ended up googling whether there was a painter named Close, because Close didn’t fit any of the obvious themes, either.
Another way to win when you’re stuck is, obviously, to read a few helpful hints–which is why we share these pointers every day. Check back tomorrow for the next puzzle!
