Need a nudge for the Saturday, August 16, 2025 edition of NYT Connections? Game #797’s board includes four overlapping-looking sets. Start with the word list and graduated clues below; the category names and full answers are farther down, behind a spoiler warning.
Words on the August 16 board
The 16 words in game #797 are:
TISSUE, WORK, PLUCK, CONSTRUCTION, CRUSH, CREPE, CREAM, RESOLVE, ROLLING, REPAIRS, SHELLAC, TOILET, GRIT, ROUT, UPGRADES, FORTITUDE.
Hints, from broad to specific
- Yellow: Think of qualities that help someone persist.
- Green: These are associated with improving a home.
- Blue: These words can describe delivering a decisive defeat.
- Purple: Consider pulp friction and varieties of paper.
Pause here if you want to solve the board yourself. The solutions follow.
Spoilers: category titles and answers
The three answer guides reviewed for this puzzle agree on these groups and solutions: TechRadar, WordHint, and Eastern Herald.
Recommended Free Tools
#1 Best Overall
| Color | Category | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | INTREPIDITY | FORTITUDE, GRIT, PLUCK, RESOLVE |
| Green | RENOVATIONS | CONSTRUCTION, REPAIRS, UPGRADES, WORK |
| Blue | TROUNCE | CREAM, CRUSH, ROUT, SHELLAC |
| Purple | KINDS OF SOFT/LIGHTWEIGHT PAPER | CREPE, ROLLING, TISSUE, TOILET |
What makes the groups tricky
The blue set relies on less literal uses of familiar words: “cream,” “crush,” “rout,” and “shellac” can all mean to beat an opponent decisively. “Shellac” may also bring varnish to mind, while “rolling” and “toilet” can point toward meanings outside the paper group. Eastern Herald notes these as potential misdirections; they are observations about this board, not measured findings about how players solve it.
The four group relationships are different kinds of connection: character traits, home-improvement work, verbs for a heavy defeat, and paper varieties. Sorting words by the relationship they share—not just by a common topic—can help distinguish the intended sets.
Rank #2
About this archived puzzle
This is the Saturday, August 16, 2025 puzzle, game #797. The date, game number, word list, and solutions are cross-checked in the three answer guides linked above. No directly accessible primary NYT archive page for this specific puzzle was available in those sources, so the answers are reported as corroborated guide results rather than as a quotation from The New York Times. TechRadar’s 2025 guide described the game as playable free on the NYT Games site, but that does not establish current access, registration, or subscription terms.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
