Honestly, Sunday morning coffee and the NYT Connections hints dec 21 go together like, well, things that actually connect. But today’s grid for December 21, 2025, feels a little meaner than usual. It’s Puzzle #924, and if you’re staring at words like STRAINER and STACKS wondering if you’ve suddenly lost your ability to speak English, you aren't alone.
Connections is that weird beast where the more you know, the more likely you are to fall into a trap. Wyna Liu and the editorial team at the Times are masters of the "red herring." They love to throw in words that could belong to three different groups just to see if you'll bite. Today's puzzle is a classic example of lateral thinking versus literal thinking.
NYT Connections Hints Dec 21: The Breadcrumbs
Sometimes you just need a nudge, not the whole answer. If you want to keep your streak alive without feeling like you've totally cheated, here are some conceptual hints for the groups.
- Yellow: Think about what you'd find in a kitchen, specifically when making a very British beverage.
- Green: If you were writing a research paper in 1995, you’d spend a lot of time in these "departments."
- Blue: These are verbs. They all describe the moment something starts to exist or comes out.
- Purple: This is a classic "fill in the blank" or "word that follows" category. Think about things that fall or are sent.
Dealing with the Dec 21 "One Away" Frustration
The worst feeling in the world is getting that little "one away" pop-up. Today, the overlap is brutal. You might see RAIN and FLOW and think "weather" or "water." Or maybe you see ISSUE and PERIODICALS and think "magazines."
Don't do it.
The game is designed to make those connections look attractive so you waste your four mistakes. Take a beat. Shuffle the board. Literally. The "Shuffle" button is the most underrated tool in the game because it breaks the visual patterns your brain is desperately trying to lock onto.
The Categories for December 21, 2025
If those hints weren't enough and you're down to your last life, here is the breakdown of what's actually happening in Puzzle #924.
Yellow: Features of a Teapot
This is the "straightforward" group, though STRAINER tripped a few people up who usually use tea bags.
- HANDLE
- LID
- SPOUT
- STRAINER
Green: Library Sections
This is a bit of a throwback. Unless you’ve spent time in a university library, the word STACKS might feel like it belongs in a different group (like "Stacks of cash" or "Stacks of pancakes").
- CIRCULATION
- PERIODICALS
- REFERENCE
- STACKS
Blue: Arise
These are formal verbs. They are the kind of words you see in legal documents or high-level academic writing. "A problem may ISSUE from this decision."
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- EMERGE
- FLOW
- ISSUE
- RESULT
Purple: ___ Drop
The dreaded purple category. These are words that all precede the word DROP. This is the hardest one to spot because the connection isn't in the meaning of the words themselves, but in how they function as prefixes.
- AIR (Airdrop)
- EAVES (Eavesdrop)
- GUM (Gumdrop)
- RAIN (Raindrop)
Why Today Was Actually Hard
According to the Connections Bot (the NYT’s own data-crunching tool), only a small percentage of players found the Blue category (Arise) first. Most people gravitated toward the teapot features because they're physical objects you can visualize.
The real danger today was ISSUE. It could have easily lived in the Green group with PERIODICALS. If you tried to put it there, you likely got the "one away" message. This is where the game becomes a logic puzzle. If ISSUE goes in Green, then what happens to STACKS? If STACKS doesn't fit anywhere else, then ISSUE must be the "intruder" in the library group.
Actionable Strategy for Your Next Game
If you struggled with the NYT Connections hints dec 21, try this next time: The Verb Test.
Before you commit to a group of nouns, look at the board and see if there are any words that only function as verbs. In today's case, EMERGE and RESULT are almost always verbs. Once you identify those, look for their "friends." That helps you isolate the Blue category before you get tangled up in the noun-heavy traps of Yellow and Green.
Another pro tip: Say the words out loud with a suffix. "Airdrop? Yes. Eavesdrop? Yes." Often, your ears will catch a connection that your eyes missed while staring at the grid.
Start by looking for the "fill-in-the-blank" words first—they are almost always the Purple group. If you can identify those, the rest of the board usually falls into place much faster.
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Focus on the words that have the least amount of alternative meanings. SPOUT is pretty specific to a teapot or a whale. Use that as your anchor and build the group around it. If a word like ISSUE has five different definitions, leave it for last.