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NYT Connections puzzle #890, dated November 17, 2025, groups the words under “You Bet,” “Forbidden,” “Basketball Shots,” and “Starting With Synonyms For ‘Scram!’” Spoiler-light clues come first; the full answer key and the purple-group explanation follow.
Spoiler-light hints for Connections #890
- Yellow: Ways to say yes or agree.
- Green: Words for things that are banned or not allowed.
- Blue: Basketball moves used to score.
- Purple: Look at the beginning of each word for a command telling someone to leave.
Connections asks you to sort 16 words into four groups of four. To work through this grid, look first for the direct meaning-based clusters; after those are removed, inspect the remaining words for a pattern in their openings. The game is available on the NYT Games site and app, as described by Insider Gaming.
Connections #890 answers
| Color | Category | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | You Bet | ABSOLUTELY, OF COURSE, OKEY-DOKE, SURE THING |
| Green | Forbidden | OFF-LIMITS, PROSCRIBED, TABOO, VERBOTEN |
| Blue | Basketball Shots | ALLEY-OOP, FADEAWAY, FINGER ROLL, SLAM DUNK |
| Purple | Starting With Synonyms For “Scram!” | GO-GETTER, LEAVENING, SCATTERGORIES, SHOO-IN |
The groups and words are reproduced in the answer guides from PCNMobile and All Things How.
Why the purple group works
The purple category is about the start of each full word, not what the word means as a whole. GO-GETTER begins with GO, LEAVENING with LEAVE, SCATTERGORIES with SCATTER, and SHOO-IN with SHOO. Each opening can suggest telling someone to leave or disperse. Once the more literal agreement, prohibition, and basketball groups are cleared, these four beginnings are easier to spot.
#1 Best Overall
A practical solve order
- Set aside ABSOLUTELY, OF COURSE, OKEY-DOKE, and SURE THING as affirmative replies.
- Group OFF-LIMITS, PROSCRIBED, TABOO, and VERBOTEN as prohibited or forbidden.
- Collect ALLEY-OOP, FADEAWAY, FINGER ROLL, and SLAM DUNK as basketball shots or scoring moves.
- For the four remaining entries, compare their first words or syllables: GO, LEAVE, SCATTER, and SHOO all point toward “scram.”
The puzzle’s identity and answer groups are also listed in the Connection Hints archive, which identifies November 17, 2025 as #890.
Quick Recap
Rank #2
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