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Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Spoiler warning: The complete solution to NYT Connections game #884 appears below. The puzzle was published for Tuesday, November 11, 2025; the matching answer guides from TechRadar and Forbes were published on November 10.
The four groups are makeup products, words for breadth, objects used for support, and images associated with iPhone apps.
Hints for Connections #884
Use these clues before looking at the answer table:
- Yellow: They might lead to a look.
- Green: Think from A to Z.
- Blue: Like gears, several cards and a book.
- Purple: Recognizable images from Apple’s mobile apps.
These paraphrased teasers correspond to the alternative clues reported by Forbes. TechRadar’s clues were “Cosmetics,” “Take it all in,” “Used for stability,” and “Apple apps.” TechRadar’s November 10 guide and Forbes’ November 10 guide agree on the final groups.
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Answers for NYT Connections #884
| Color | Hint | Category | Words |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow | Cosmetics | Makeup | BLUSH, FOUNDATION, HIGHLIGHTER, POWDER |
| Green | Take it all in | Breadth | EXTENT, RANGE, SCALE, SCOPE |
| Blue | Used for stability | Objects used for support | BASE, HOLDER, REST, STAND |
| Purple | Apple apps | Icons on an iPhone | COMPASS, ENVELOPE, MUSIC NOTES, SPEECH BUBBLE |
Why each group fits
Yellow: makeup
BLUSH, FOUNDATION, HIGHLIGHTER and POWDER are all cosmetic products used in makeup routines. FOUNDATION is the deliberate trap: it can sound like something that provides structural support, but it belongs with the three other cosmetics. The support group instead uses BASE.
Green: breadth
EXTENT, RANGE, SCALE and SCOPE can each describe the size, span or coverage of something. Their meanings overlap, but the shared idea is how broadly something reaches.
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Blue: objects used for support
BASE, HOLDER, REST and STAND are things that support, stabilize or keep another object in position. BASE is especially easy to overlook because FOUNDATION suggests a similar idea while fitting the makeup group more precisely.
Purple: icons on an iPhone
COMPASS, ENVELOPE, MUSIC NOTES and SPEECH BUBBLE are visual references to familiar iPhone app icons. Forbes identifies the associated apps as Safari, Mail, Music and Messages. This category depends on recognizing imagery rather than treating every entry as an ordinary noun, which can make it the least obvious group for players who do not use an iPhone.
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The complete 16-word grid
The puzzle presented sixteen entries to divide into four groups of four:
MUSIC NOTES; FOUNDATION; STAND; SCALE; BASE; REST; RANGE; COMPASS; HIGHLIGHTER; ENVELOPE; POWDER; SCOPE; SPEECH BUBBLE; BLUSH; EXTENT; HOLDER.
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How the Connections format works
Connections asks you to arrange sixteen words, phrases, symbols or numbers into four groups of four related entries. The themes are hidden, and distractor words are chosen so that an entry can appear to fit more than one category. As Graham Todd, Tim Merino, Sam Earle and Julian Togelius describe in their 2024 paper, solving can require both literal meanings and lateral or abstract connections: “Missed Connections: Lateral Thinking Puzzles for Large Language Models”.
The game allows only a limited number of incorrect guesses before the puzzle ends, so test a suspected group against every remaining tile before submitting it. For #884, checking whether FOUNDATION or BASE is the better support word is the key safeguard against an early mistake.
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Can you still play game #884?
Forbes reports that previous Connections games are available through the NYT Games archive with an NYT All Access or Games subscription. Availability and access terms can change, so use the current New York Times Games page to confirm whether this specific date is playable.
Source note
The answer key above is corroborated by the two dated guides from TechRadar and Forbes, both published November 10, 2025, ahead of the November 11 puzzle. No official New York Times archive record for this exact grid was included with those reports, so the solutions are presented as corroborated secondary reporting rather than a direct NYT citation.
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