Listen, we’ve all been there. It’s Saturday morning, you’ve got your coffee, and you open the NYT Connections grid thinking it’ll be a breeze. Then you see a word like BUST next to STATUE and your brain immediately screams "Art History!"
Not so fast.
The NYT Connections hints November 29 puzzle—specifically Game #902—is a masterclass in the "red herring." Wyna Liu and the editorial team at the New York Times love to dangle a theme in front of you just to see if you’ll bite. Today, that bait is the sculpture theme. If you tried to group things based on museum carvings, you likely burned through your four mistakes before the sun was fully up.
Let's break down how to actually navigate this grid without losing your streak.
The Sculpture Trap and Why It Failed
One of the most common pitfalls today was the overlap between the Yellow and Purple categories. Words like BUST, STATUE, TORSO, and RELIEF look like they belong in the Louvre. Honestly, it’s a very logical group. In any other context, you’d be right.
But in Connections, logic usually has a double bottom.
In this specific puzzle, TORSO isn't about marble; it's about biology. BUST isn't a head-and-shoulders carving; it's a gambling disaster. Once you realize the "sculpture" group is a lie, the rest of the board starts to fall into place.
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NYT Connections Hints November 29: The Big Clues
If you're still staring at the screen and don't want the full spoilers yet, here are the "vibes" for each color group.
- Yellow Group Hint: Think about the middle of your body. Not the organs, but the physical structure and the terms a fitness trainer might yell at you.
- Green Group Hint: This is about "Plan B." If the main person can't show up to work or the game, who is stepping in?
- Blue Group Hint: Visualize a standard city park. If you were sitting on a bench, what four things would be in your direct line of sight? (And yes, one of them is an animal).
- Purple Group Hint: This is the "Vegas" category. If you’re sitting at a felt table with a dealer, these are the verbs you’re going to use or the result you’re trying to avoid.
Today’s Connections Groups (Game #902)
Sometimes you just need to know the names of the buckets so you can sort the remaining words. Here is how the 16 words were actually divided for November 29, 2025.
Yellow: Abdominal Area
This was the most straightforward group, though "Trunk" can sometimes confuse people because it has so many meanings (car parts, elephants, luggage).
- CORE
- MIDSECTION
- TORSO
- TRUNK
Green: Replacement
This group was a bit "business-casual." It refers to people or things that fill a gap.
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- BACKUP
- COVER
- RELIEF
- SUBSTITUTE
Blue: Park Staples
This is where the "Statue" trap finally gets resolved.
- BENCH
- PIGEON
- STATUE
- TREE
Purple: Blackjack Terms
As usual, Purple is the hardest because it requires specific knowledge—in this case, casino lingo.
- BUST
- HIT
- SPLIT
- STAND
Wait, Was There Another November 29 Puzzle?
Actually, yes. If you are looking at an archive or playing a different version, you might be thinking of Game #537 (from 2024). That one featured categories like Units (HERTZ, MOLE, SECOND, VOLT) and MLB Team Members (NATIONAL, RAY, TIGER, TWIN). It’s easy to get these mixed up if you're browsing old hint guides, but for the 2025 cycle, the "Abdominal Area" and "Blackjack" sets are the ones in play.
How to Win at Connections More Often
Honestly, the best advice I can give for puzzles like this is to never submit your first 4-word guess. If you see four words that fit perfectly, look for a fifth. If BUST, STATUE, and TORSO all fit "Sculpture," but RELIEF also fits, and TRUNK kinda fits... stop. That means "Sculpture" is likely a trap.
The game is designed to have these overlaps. The "Connections Bot" that the NYT launched recently actually tracks how many people fall for these specific traps. The "Sculpture" red herring is one of the most successful ones they've run in a while because the words are so synonymous.
Pro Tip: Use the "Shuffle" button. It’s not just there for aesthetic reasons. Our brains get stuck on spatial patterns. If CORE and MIDSECTION are next to each other, you’ll see them as a pair. If they are on opposite sides of the grid, you might realize CORE also relates to an apple or an engine.
Actionable Next Steps for Today’s Grid
- Isolate the Blackjack words first: If you know the game, BUST, HIT, and STAND are unmistakable. Once you pull those out, the "Sculpture" trap disappears.
- Focus on the nouns in the park: Don't overthink PIGEON. It doesn't have a double meaning here; it's just a bird in a park.
- Check for "Work" synonyms: RELIEF and COVER are often used in professional or military contexts.
- Confirm the Yellow group: Once you have 12 words figured out, the last four for the midsection should be obvious.
If you managed to solve this without losing a single life, you’re doing better than most. The crossover between RELIEF (as a substitute) and RELIEF (as a type of sculpture) was particularly mean.
Go ahead and finish up your grid—just remember to keep an eye out for those casino terms if you’re still stuck on the last few tiles.
To keep your brain sharp for tomorrow, try looking at the remaining words and see if any of them have "hidden" meanings you missed, like TRUNK being both a body part and a storage space. This kind of lateral thinking is exactly what helps you spot the Purple categories before they spot you.