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Here are spoiler-safe hints for the Sunday, March 23, 2025, NYT Connections puzzle, game #651. Open the clues first if you want to keep solving; the group names and complete answer are farther down.
Spoiler-safe hints for Connections #651
These clues point toward each group without naming its four words:
- Yellow: Under a spell.
- Green: They help you fly, but have another meaning too.
- Blue: You tell time with these.
- Purple: Clapping-game lyrics.
Group names for March 23
Connections asks players to sort 16 words into four groups of four. The archive guide describes the difficulty order as yellow, green, blue, then purple, and gives players up to four mistakes.
- Yellow: CAPTIVATE
- Green: THINGS WITH WINGS
- Blue: WORDS THAT MODIFY “WATCH”
- Purple: WORDS REPEATED IN “MISS MARY MACK”
Full answer for Connections #651
Warning: the word sets below reveal the complete solution.
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#1 Best Overall
| Group | Words | Connection |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow — CAPTIVATE | ABSORB, ENTRANCE, GRAB, RIVET | Each can mean to hold someone’s attention or fascination. |
| Green — THINGS WITH WINGS | AIRPLANE, FAIRY, FLY, HOSPITAL | Each is associated with wings, literally or figuratively. |
| Blue — WORDS THAT MODIFY “WATCH” | POCKET, SMART, STOP, WRIST | Each forms a familiar phrase with “watch.” |
| Purple — WORDS REPEATED IN “MISS MARY MACK” | BACK, BLACK, BUTTONS, MACK | Each appears as a repeated word in the clapping-game lyric. |
The 16 words in the grid
SMART, AIRPLANE, BACK, POCKET, GRAB, BUTTONS, STOP, FLY, FAIRY, ENTRANCE, BLACK, RIVET, MACK, WRIST, ABSORB, HOSPITAL.
Why these groups can be tricky
Yellow: familiar words with a shared sense
ABSORB, ENTRANCE, GRAB, and RIVET all connect to capturing attention, though some are more commonly used in that sense than others.
Rank #2
Green: wings in different forms
AIRPLANE and FAIRY suggest wings directly. FLY is a winged insect, while HOSPITAL can have a “wing” as a section of a building.
Blue: phrases completed by “watch”
The words pair with “watch” in familiar terms: pocket watch, smartwatch, stopwatch, and wristwatch.
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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Purple: a lyric connection
BACK, BLACK, BUTTONS, and MACK are drawn from the repeated words in “Miss Mary Mack,” a clapping-game rhyme. The category depends on recognizing the lyric rather than finding a single everyday meaning shared by the four words.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Which March 23 puzzle is this?
This answer guide is for the archived Sunday, March 23, 2025 edition, game #651—not a March 23 puzzle from another year. TechRadar labels the archive with that date and number, and WordHint identifies the same edition. TechRadar’s page was published March 22, 2025, a day before the puzzle date shown on the archive page.
Sources: TechRadar’s March 23, 2025 Connections guide and WordHint’s archive identification.
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