Spoilers ahead: This is the answer guide for Connections game #929, dated Friday, December 26, 2025. Try the hints first if you want to solve the board yourself.
Hints for Connections #929
Each group contains four words connected by a shared idea. These clues move from broad nudges to the category names; the full groups are below.
- One group features recognizable California character types.
- One group consists of comedy styles or subgenres.
- One group shares a decade and a kind of music.
- For the last group, put the same word before each answer.
Category clues
- Yellow: California-based character tropes
- Green: Comedy subgenres
- Blue: 1970s rock bands
- Purple: BLACK ____
Full answer key
TechRadar’s answer guide identifies this as puzzle #929 for Friday, December 26, 2025. Here are the four groups and their sixteen words:
| Color | Category | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | California-based character tropes | MOVIE EXEC, SURFER, TECH BRO, VALLEY GIRL |
| Green | Comedy subgenres | BUDDY, CRINGE, SCREWBALL, STONER |
| Blue | 1970s rock bands | AMERICA, CHICAGO, FOREIGNER, JOURNEY |
| Purple | BLACK ____ | FOREST, FRIDAY, PANTHER, WIDOW |
The board’s complete word list is MOVIE EXEC, PANTHER, FRIDAY, AMERICA, WIDOW, BUDDY, JOURNEY, SURFER, CRINGE, FOREST, TECH BRO, CHICAGO, STONER, FOREIGNER, SCREWBALL, and VALLEY GIRL.
#1 Best Overall
How the groups connect
Yellow: California-based character tropes
The words point to familiar roles and stereotypes associated with California: a MOVIE EXEC, a SURFER, a TECH BRO, and a VALLEY GIRL. Forbes’ explanation notes that MOVIE EXEC is short for movie executive and describes VALLEY GIRL as a stereotyped young woman from the San Fernando Valley; the other entries evoke surfing and the tech industry.
Green: Comedy subgenres
BUDDY, CRINGE, SCREWBALL, and STONER each connect to a style or subgenre of comedy. The trick is to read them as labels for kinds of comedy rather than as unrelated descriptions.
Blue: 1970s rock bands
AMERICA, CHICAGO, FOREIGNER, and JOURNEY are the band names in the group. Their shared clue is that they are 1970s rock bands.
Purple: BLACK ____
Add BLACK before each word to complete a familiar name or phrase: Black Forest, Black Friday, Black Panther, and Black Widow.
Rank #3
What Connections asks you to do
Connections is a daily association puzzle: sort sixteen words into four groups of four based on a shared connection. TechRadar says the daily puzzle appears at midnight in each time zone, so a player’s local date can differ from another reader’s. The game is available through NYT Games on desktop or mobile.
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