Need a nudge before the reveal? This spoiler-aware guide starts with gentle clues for the February 25, 2024, NYT Connections puzzle, then gives the four categories and all 16 answers. Contemporary date-specific guides identify this puzzle as #259; the date is the clearest way to distinguish it from other February 25 puzzles.
Hints for Connections #259
Try the clues in order and stop when you have enough to solve a group. Each hint reveals a little more.
- Yellow: Think of verbs for moving with weight or effort.
- Green: These words can describe yielding, bending, or changing shape.
- Blue: Look for one weapon and three pieces of protective gear from a combat sport.
- Purple: Each word starts with a shortened musical-instrument name.
Connections answers for February 25, 2024
Connections asks players to sort 16 words into four groups of four that share a connection. The official NYT Connections help page covers the game and its access channels. If you want to play before seeing the solution, open NYT Games first.
| Color | Category | Words | Why they fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow | WALK HEAVILY | LUMBER, PLOD, STOMP, TRUDGE | Each describes heavy, slow, or effortful walking. |
| Green | FLEXIBLE | ELASTIC, LIMBER, PLASTIC, SUPPLE | Each can describe bendability, malleability, or the capacity to yield. |
| Blue | FENCING EQUIPMENT | FOIL, GLOVE, JACKET, MASK | A foil is a fencing weapon; the other words name protective gear. |
| Purple | WORDS BEGINNING WITH INSTRUMENTS | BASSINET, CELLOPHANE, HARPOON, ORGANISM | The words start with BASS, CELLO, HARP, and ORGAN. |
Why the trickiest words fit
PLASTIC belongs with flexible words
Here, PLASTIC means capable of being shaped or molded. It is not grouped by its association with wrapping or material.
FOIL points to fencing
FOIL is the fencing weapon, which connects it to GLOVE, JACKET, and MASK as equipment rather than to another meaning of the word.
The purple group hides instrument names
The connection is at the beginning of each word: BASS in BASSINET, CELLO in CELLOPHANE, HARP in HARPOON, and ORGAN in ORGANISM.
Rank #2
All 16 words, alphabetically
BASSINET, CELLOPHANE, ELASTIC, FOIL, GLOVE, HARPOON, JACKET, LIMBER, LUMBER, MASK, ORGANISM, PLASTIC, PLOD, STOMP, SUPPLE, TRUDGE.
Date-specific guides published on February 25, 2024 identify the puzzle as #259. Some current archive results conflict about its numbering, so use the date when looking up this solution and do not confuse it with the different puzzle from February 25, 2025.
Quick Recap
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