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Need a nudge for NYT Connections puzzle #652 from Monday, March 24, 2025? Start with the spoiler-light hints below, then reveal the category names or full groups only if you need them.
Hints for Connections #652
Try the clues before scrolling to the categories or answers:
- Yellow: It’s off.
- Green: Stays the same.
- Blue: Who can play.
- Purple: The common word is a synonym for sheets.
Category names
- Yellow: BAD-SMELLING
- Green: UNFLUCTUATING
- Blue: WHO VIDEO GAMES ARE FOR, PER ESRB RATINGS
- Purple: THINGS WITH LAYERS
Full answers for Monday, March 24
Here are the four completed groups, with each set of words shown together:
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- BAD-SMELLING: FOUL, RANK, RIPE, SOUR
- UNFLUCTUATING: CONSTANT, LEVEL, STABLE, UNIFORM
- WHO VIDEO GAMES ARE FOR, PER ESRB RATINGS: ADULTS ONLY, EVERYONE, MATURE, TEEN
- THINGS WITH LAYERS: EARTH, HENHOUSE, ONION, PHOTOSHOP
Why the purple group fits
Each item connects to layers in a different way: Earth has layers, a henhouse can have nesting boxes or tiers, an onion is layered, and Photoshop uses layers in image editing. The shared idea is not a single literal object type.
#1 Best Overall
How Connections works
Connections gives players 16 words to sort into four groups of four based on a shared theme. The New York Times says the groups are color-coded by relative difficulty: yellow is the easiest and purple the trickiest. Some words may seem to fit more than one category, so consider how all four words in a proposed group work together. NYT’s Connections help page describes the game and its mechanics.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where to play or revisit the puzzle
NYT says the daily game is available through its Games site and apps, and can be played free without registering. Signing into an account can preserve progress across devices. A new puzzle is released at midnight in the player’s timezone.
Rank #2
The NYT archive is available to All Access and Games subscribers and, according to the Help Center, includes puzzles dating back to June 12, 2023. Playing archived games affects some statistics but not streaks. Access details can change; check the NYT Help Center for current terms.
Quick Recap
Best Value
Rank #4
Rank #3
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