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This is the archived New York Times Connections puzzle for Saturday, August 16, 2025: game #797. Start with the spoiler-safe hints below; the full color-coded solution follows in a clearly marked section.
Spoiler-safe hints for Connections #797
- Yellow: Inner strength and courage.
- Green: Work done to improve a home or building.
- Blue: Ways to defeat an opponent decisively.
- Purple: Varieties of soft or lightweight paper.
The board contains 16 words arranged into four groups of four. One answer guide says the game allows four mistakes before the round ends; see Tom’s Guide’s August 16, 2025 answer guide.
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Full Connections #797 solution
Spoilers ahead: the category names and all 16 answers are below.
| 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 |
Why the words fit
Yellow: INTREPIDITY
FORTITUDE, GRIT, PLUCK, and RESOLVE all describe courage, determination, or steadfastness.
#1 Best Overall
Green: RENOVATIONS
CONSTRUCTION, REPAIRS, UPGRADES, and WORK can refer to projects that improve or alter a building.
Blue: TROUNCE
CREAM, CRUSH, ROUT, and SHELLAC can each mean to beat someone decisively. This group is easier to spot if you read the words as verbs rather than focus on their more familiar everyday meanings.
Rank #2
Purple: KINDS OF SOFT/LIGHTWEIGHT PAPER
CREPE, ROLLING, TISSUE, and TOILET refer to types of paper. The words point to a material or product category, not four unrelated objects.
Complete 16-word board
TISSUE, WORK, PLUCK, CONSTRUCTION, CRUSH, CREPE, CREAM, RESOLVE, ROLLING, REPAIRS, SHELLAC, TOILET, GRIT, ROUT, UPGRADES, FORTITUDE.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A useful approach to overlapping words
Several words may suggest more than one possible connection. Scan all 16 before locking in a group, and consider less-common meanings as well as the first association that comes to mind. For this board, recognizing the “defeat soundly” meanings helps reveal the blue group, while the paper category shows how familiar words can point to a shared material or product type.
The August 16, 2025 puzzle and solution are reported consistently by secondary answer guides, including CNET’s Connections guide for Aug. 16 (#797). An official NYT archive or rules page was not available among those sources.
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