Today’sConnectionspuzzle marks the first one for May 2025, which starts strong with a challenging set of words that seemingly don’t have a clear pattern. I found that the puzzle for today uses many different verbs to informally address other topics, creating a vague series of word pairings rather than something straightforward. Without the right hints, you may be left struggling to find out what phrases make sense together.
Visualizing any word you see during aConnectionspuzzle is a good strategy for finding groups of words that all fit a category. Remember, youonly have four chances to make a mistake, so don’t rely on your first instinct. Similar to theNYTVertexpuzzle game, visualize concepts first, then look them up to get every possible definition, even if you think you already know what a word means.
Today’s Connections Category Hints
May 1 #690
I managed to solve today’s puzzle through a bit of luck and recognition of a small theme among all four categories. Today’s theme isalternate terms for different verbs or nouns, or informal definitions of certain phrases. For example, the word DROP actually refers to dropping a bad habit, rather than the physical act of dropping something from your hand.
If you’re struggling to connect the various terms used in today’s puzzle, try following these hints to learn which categories phrases belong to:
If you want to go all out with some of your clue-searching,you should look at the category namesto get some extra help. There are also spoilers for each category if you find yourself needing to solve a single category to finish up.
PURSE
REWARD
This part of the puzzle was tricky for me at first, despite how I was able to pair REWARD and PRIZE together from the start. However, after looking at the puzzle a bit more, I was reminded of how games like Poker or evenMonopolyhave aPOT for the central prize poolfor players to win at times. Since earnings can be stored in a PURSE, this category was easier to group once you realized its theme.
KICK
SHAKE
Some of the terms in today’s puzzle made this category hard to find, as I originally thought that BREAK, DROP, and KICK were associated with BITE as different actions. Upon some reflection, though, I realized that these phrases weremeant to reference dropping, breaking, or kicking a bad habitinstead. This helped me add SHAKE, as it easily refers to shaking a bad habit along with the other words.
TILT
ZOOM
This was the most challenging part of the puzzle for me, as I had to think about which words had the most similar alternate meanings. At first, ZOOM and TILT felt like completely separate verbs until I recognized howboth words are used to describe camera techniques used while making a movie. This helped me realize DOLLY meant a camera’s dolly and PAN was another term associated with how cameras for film are used.
TRAVEL
When you TRAVEL, sometimes you need snacks to keep you sustained, especially during a long flight. This was the idea that clued me into this part of the puzzle, leading me to BITE and FUN as terms used to describe smaller sizes for foods you’d typically eat while on the go. POCKET-sized meals also can help you on a long road trip, giving you the last word needed for this category.
Other Games Like Connections
If you are looking for another puzzle to play,check out one of the ones in the box below.
Is It Free To Play?
Wordle(NYT)
Solve a random five-letter word by using color clues.EveryWordleanswercan be found in our daily updated list.
Yes
Crosswordle
Find the two words that intersect each other like a crossword puzzle.
The Password Game
Create a password in this ever-changing, not-so-simple game. You can find somehelpful tips in ourPassword Gameguide.
