Connections Conquered: A Peek at Today's Puzzle (#891)

 The New York Times' Connections has done it again! Tuesday's grid (Game #891, November 18, 2025) delivered a delightful mix of obvious and delightfully sneaky connections, reminding us why this game has become a daily ritual for so many. If you're scratching your head, or just looking to revel in the "aha!" moment, here are the hints and categories that tied today's 16 words together.

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🟡 The Yellow Group: Always Good for a Chuckle

The easiest grouping today was all about keeping things light. This set of words shared a common thread that's perfect for anyone who loves a good laugh.

• Category Hint: A source of amusement.

• The Connection: FUNNY PERSON

• The Words: CLOWN, JOKER, LAUGH, RIOT

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🟢 The Green Group: A Trip to the Produce Aisle

Did you spot the edible link? This category was a classic example of grouping common words that belong to a specific variety.

• Category Hint: Types of a common red fruit.

• The Connection: KINDS OF TOMATOES

• The Words: CHERRY, GRAPE, PLUM, ROMA

(Solver's Note: Watch out! BERRY was a huge red herring here, making you think of small fruits.)

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🔵 The Blue Group: And the Oscar Goes To...

The medium-difficulty section had a brilliant trivia twist, requiring a little bit of pop culture knowledge to connect the names.

• Category Hint: Famous female award winners.

• The Connection: BEST ACTRESS OSCAR WINNERS

• The Words: BERRY, MADISON, STONE, SWANK

• (Halle Berry, Mikey Madison, Emma Stone, Hilary Swank)

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🟣 The Purple Group: The Trickiest Terrain

As always, the purple category was the curveball, requiring you to look past the surface meaning and hunt for a structural link. Today's twist was all about word endings.

• Category Hint: Focus on the suffix!

• The Connection: ENDING IN SYNONYMS FOR "LOCATION"

• The Words: COMMONPLACE, NEEDLEPOINT, PARASITE, SUNSPOT

  • The ending of each word is a synonym for a place or location: place, point, site, spot.

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🤔 Your Connections Strategy Session

Today’s puzzle served as a fantastic reminder of some key strategies for conquering Connections:

1. Beware the Red Herring: The initial temptation to group BERRY, CHERRY, GRAPE, and PLUM was strong. Always double-check if your seemingly obvious group is the only possible grouping.

2. Use Context Clues: Seeing BERRY, STONE, and SWANK together should immediately make you think of famous people or pop culture, guiding you towards the Blue category.

3. The Suffix/Prefix Hunt: When you're down to the Purple group, stop looking at the word meanings and look at their structure. Embedded words, common prefixes, or shared suffixes are almost always the trick.

How did you fare with today's grid? Did you get all four in a row, or did the tomato trap get you? 

Share your solving experience in the comments!