Need help with NYT Connections for Sunday, December 28, 2025? These hints are for game #931. Start with the broad clues, then the group-specific clues; the complete categories and words appear below a clearly marked spoiler warning.
Broad hints for Connections #931
Each clue points toward one group, but none gives away the four words directly.
- “Send it!”
- “Solid as a rock.”
- “Tick tock.”
- “Bark!”
Stronger group clues
If the first layer is not enough, these more specific prompts narrow the possibilities:
- In the post
- Hold it
- Analog engineering
- Altered canines
How to approach the grid
Connections sets can be based on meaning, spelling, sound or a letter transformation. Write possible groups down before submitting them, and actively look for red herrings and double meanings.
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Watch for the water decoy
SPRING, STILL and PERRIER can appear to form a water-related set. That apparent connection is misleading: STILL belongs with words meaning unchanging or unmoving, while SPRING is a mechanical watch part and PERRIER belongs to the altered-dog group.
The least familiar mechanical term
PAWL is a component that catches against a toothed wheel to permit or prevent movement in mechanisms such as a ratchet. Recognizing that mechanical context helps separate it from the board’s other meanings.
Spoilers: answers for Sunday, December 28, 2025
The following table gives all four categories and their words for game #931.
| Color | Category | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | CONTAINERS FOR SHIPPING | BOX, ENVELOPE, MAILER, TUBE |
| Green | UNMOVING | CONSTANT, STATIC, STATIONARY, STILL |
| Blue | MECHANICAL WATCH PARTS | GEAR, PAWL, RATCHET, SPRING |
| Purple | DOGS WITH FIRST LETTER CHANGED | DUSKY, NOODLE, PERRIER, SOXER |
Why the purple category works
Change the first letter of each purple entry to reveal a dog breed:
- DUSKY becomes HUSKY.
- NOODLE becomes POODLE.
- PERRIER becomes TERRIER.
- SOXER becomes BOXER.
What this puzzle tests
Game #931 uses all four common Connections difficulty axes: straightforward meaning (shipping containers), synonyms (unmoving), specialist vocabulary (watch mechanisms), and a spelling transformation (dog breeds). The overlapping meanings are deliberate; testing a word in the context of all four possible groups is safer than locking onto the first plausible association.
About the Connections format
Connections presents 16 terms that must be divided into four groups of four. A 2024 study built a benchmark of 358 Connections puzzles and found that its best-performing tested language models scored nearly 30% below human performance on that benchmark. That result describes the study’s experiment, not a general claim about every current model or every human player.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Play the puzzle
To play the current daily puzzle, use the NYT Games Connections page. This article covers the archived Sunday, December 28, 2025 edition, game #931.
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