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Spoilers ahead: These are the hints and complete answers for NYT Connections puzzle #894, published Friday, November 21, 2025. The four groups are lapel accessories, cocktails, Pixar protagonists, and phrases whose first words are synonyms for “eat.”
Hints for Connections #894
If you want a nudge before seeing the full groups, the category themes are:
- Jacket accessories
- Mixed beverages
- From the Toy Story studio
- Sounds like a quick eater
Connections presents 16 words and asks players to sort them into four groups of four that share a theme. Categories have colors: yellow is generally the easiest and purple the trickiest. Some words are deliberately chosen to seem plausible in more than one group, even though each puzzle has one solution. The New York Times Help Center explains the rules.
Connections #894 answers
Spoilers: The groups and all 16 tiles are listed below.
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| Color | Category | Words | Clue type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow | Things worn on lapels | AWARENESS RIBBON, BOUTONNIÈRE, LAPEL PIN, LAVALIER | Direct object category |
| Green | Cocktails | COSMOPOLITAN, GREYHOUND, SCREWDRIVER, SEA BREEZE | Beverage category |
| Blue | Pixar protagonists | CLOWNFISH, GRUMPY OLD MAN, RACECAR, TALKING DOLL | Character descriptions |
| Purple | Starting with synonyms for “eat” | BOLT CUTTER, CHOW MEIN, SCARF RING, WOLF EEL | First-word wordplay |
The complete grouping is reported in TechRadar’s dated guide to puzzle #894.
How the trickiest group works
Purple: starting with synonyms for “eat”
Look at the first word of each two-word tile, rather than the whole phrase: BOLT, CHOW, SCARF, and WOLF can each be used as a verb associated with eating quickly or voraciously. The complete phrases—BOLT CUTTER, CHOW MEIN, SCARF RING, and WOLF EEL—are the puzzle’s wordplay answers; they are not all foods.
Blue: Pixar protagonists
These tiles describe characters instead of naming them. CLOWNFISH points to Nemo, GRUMPY OLD MAN to Carl, RACECAR to Lightning McQueen, and TALKING DOLL to Woody.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Solving context and the archive
Connections releases a new puzzle at midnight in the player’s timezone, according to the NYT Help Center. The game can be played through the Connections website, the Games app, NYT The Athletic, and the News app. The official documentation says past puzzles are available to All Access and Games subscribers; archive progress can affect some statistics, but not streaks. Subscription and archive availability may change, so check the current official Connections help page for details. The documented archive coverage reaches back to June 12, 2023.
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