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NYT Connections puzzle No. 876 was published on Monday, November 3, 2025. The answers are THINGS THAT ARE RED, THINGS FILLED WITH AIR, THINGS WITH A LOT OF PIECES, and WORDS ENDING WITH ANIMALS.
Spoiler warning: The answers below reveal all of NYT Connections puzzle No. 876.
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NYT Connections #876 answers for Monday, November 3, 2025
The four groups are:
| Color | Connection | Answers |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | Things that are red | CLOWN NOSE, FIRE ENGINE, MARASCHINO CHERRY, STOP SIGN |
| Green | Things filled with air | BALLOON ANIMAL, BOUNCY CASTLE, WATER WINGS, WHOOPEE CUSHION |
| Blue | Things with a lot of pieces | JIGSAW PUZZLE, LEGO SET, LITE-BRITE, PICK-UP STICKS |
| Purple | Words ending with animals | DARK HORSE, FUNKY CHICKEN, JUMBO SHRIMP, SEA MONKEY |
Date note: Puzzle No. 876 corresponds to Monday, November 3, 2025. If you saw this title without a year, it refers to the 2025 puzzle rather than November 3, 2026.
Hints for Connections #876
If you are trying to solve the puzzle without seeing the complete groups, use these hints in order from broadest to most specific:
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- Yellow hint: Four entries are conventionally associated with the same color.
- Green hint: Four things are inflated or contain air.
- Blue hint: Four games, toys, or activities use many separate pieces.
- Purple hint: Ignore the first word in each phrase. The final word is an animal.
Connections #876 group explanations
Yellow: Things that are red
CLOWN NOSE, FIRE ENGINE, MARASCHINO CHERRY, STOP SIGN
These four are linked by a familiar color association: they are traditionally or commonly red. A clown nose is conventionally red, as is the preserved maraschino cherry used in drinks and desserts. Stop signs use a red background, and fire engines are commonly red.
The fire engine clue is not an absolute rule. Some fire departments use yellow or other colors, so the category depends on the standard cultural image rather than every real-world example being red.
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Green: Things filled with air
BALLOON ANIMAL, BOUNCY CASTLE, WATER WINGS, WHOOPEE CUSHION
Each item is inflated or operates with air inside it. A balloon animal is made from a shaped modeling balloon. A bouncy castle is an inflatable structure that must remain filled with air, while water wings are inflatable flotation devices for the arms. A whoopee cushion is inflated and releases air to create its sound.
The misleading overlap here is that several entries can also be classified as toys or novelty objects. BALLOON ANIMAL may look like a possible animal-related answer for the purple group, and BOUNCY CASTLE and WATER WINGS may suggest children’s play. Their more precise connection is that they are air-filled.
Blue: Things with a lot of pieces
JIGSAW PUZZLE, LEGO SET, LITE-BRITE, PICK-UP STICKS
This group is about objects or activities made up of many separate pieces. A jigsaw puzzle has interlocking pieces, a LEGO set contains numerous construction elements, and Lite-Brite uses many small colored pegs to make illuminated designs. Pick-up sticks is played with a pile of individual sticks.
The intended connection is narrower than simply “games” or “toys.” Several of these could fit a broad play-related category, but the number of pieces is the feature that unites all four.
Purple: Words ending with animals
DARK HORSE, FUNKY CHICKEN, JUMBO SHRIMP, SEA MONKEY
The final words in these phrases are animal names: HORSE, CHICKEN, SHRIMP, and MONKEY. The opening words are distractions and do not form the connection.
JUMBO SHRIMP is especially deceptive because the phrase is an apparent contradiction, but the relevant word is still SHRIMP. Likewise, BALLOON ANIMAL belongs with the air-filled entries rather than this group because “animal” is not the name of the specific animal at the end of a phrase.
Best solving path for puzzle No. 876
- Begin with the obvious color group. CLOWN NOSE, FIRE ENGINE, MARASCHINO CHERRY, and STOP SIGN all strongly suggest red and make a relatively precise set of four.
- Look for a physical property. BALLOON ANIMAL, BOUNCY CASTLE, WATER WINGS, and WHOOPEE CUSHION are all inflated or filled with air. This removes the toy-related ambiguity.
- Use the remaining construction and play objects together. JIGSAW PUZZLE, LEGO SET, LITE-BRITE, and PICK-UP STICKS all involve many separate pieces.
- Read the last words of the final phrases. DARK HORSE, FUNKY CHICKEN, JUMBO SHRIMP, and SEA MONKEY end in animal names.
The general lesson is to test the precision of a category before submitting it. Connections deliberately includes entries that can fit a broad theme, so a group such as “toys” may be technically tempting but less exact than “things filled with air” or “things with a lot of pieces.”
How NYT Connections works
Connections presents 16 words or phrases. The goal is to arrange them into four groups of four, with each group sharing a connection. The categories are color-coded by difficulty: yellow is generally the most straightforward, followed by green, blue, and purple.
The difficulty comes from overlapping possibilities. An entry may appear to fit more than one category, but only one arrangement uses every tile exactly once. If a promising group leaves an awkward leftover or requires an overly broad explanation, reconsider it before using a guess.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsThe daily game is available through the New York Times Games website and Games app. According to the official help information, the daily puzzle releases at midnight in the player’s local time zone. Historical solution guides may label dates differently, including by Eastern Time, so the puzzle number is useful when confirming which edition you are reading.
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Want more Connections puzzles?
For readers who prefer a physical collection rather than the free daily online format, Connections: Find the Common Threads in 100+ Puzzles of Wit and Wordplay is an official Connections puzzle book from The New York Times Games and Wyna Liu. It is a separate book-form collection, and there is no confirmation here that it includes puzzle No. 876 specifically.
Frequently Asked Questions
What date was Connections puzzle #876?
NYT Connections puzzle No. 876 was the edition for Monday, November 3, 2025. The year is important because the title is sometimes shown without one.
What was the yellow group in Connections #876?
The yellow group is THINGS THAT ARE RED: CLOWN NOSE, FIRE ENGINE, MARASCHINO CHERRY, and STOP SIGN.
What was the green group in Connections #876?
The green group is THINGS FILLED WITH AIR: BALLOON ANIMAL, BOUNCY CASTLE, WATER WINGS, and WHOOPEE CUSHION.
What was the blue group in Connections #876?
The blue group is THINGS WITH A LOT OF PIECES: JIGSAW PUZZLE, LEGO SET, LITE-BRITE, and PICK-UP STICKS.
What was the purple group in Connections #876?
The purple group is WORDS ENDING WITH ANIMALS: DARK HORSE, FUNKY CHICKEN, JUMBO SHRIMP, and SEA MONKEY.
The Bottom Line
NYT Connections #876, played Monday, November 3, 2025, groups its entries into red things, air-filled things, objects with many pieces, and phrases ending in animal names. The key traps are the toy overlap around BALLOON ANIMAL and BOUNCY CASTLE, and the broad temptation to label the blue group simply as games.
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