Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
These are the hints and answers for the New York Times Connections puzzle from Tuesday, December 9, 2025, game #912. The clues below are arranged from least to most revealing, so stop before the answer section if you are still solving.
Hints for Connections #912
Try these four clues before looking at the category names or tiles:
- Yellow: Give it some thought.
- Green: Patterned beasts.
- Blue: Linked by a colourful prism.
- Purple: Sound like numerals.
Category names
Still need another nudge? The four categories are BEAR IN MIND, STRIPED ANIMALS, ASSOCIATED WITH RAINBOWS, and BEGINNING WITH NUMBER HOMOPHONES.
Spoiler warning: full answers for December 9
The complete grid contains DOROTHY GALE, CLOWNFISH, TOUCAN, PRIDE, LEPRECHAUN, HONEYBEE, WONDER, TIGER, ZEBRA, FOREHEAD, FACTOR, FIEVEL, CONSIDER, UNICORN, COUNT, and INCLUDE.
#1 Best Overall
Yellow: BEAR IN MIND
CONSIDER, COUNT, FACTOR, INCLUDE. In this set, each word can mean taking something into account or keeping it in mind when assessing a situation.
Green: STRIPED ANIMALS
CLOWNFISH, HONEYBEE, TIGER, ZEBRA.
Blue: ASSOCIATED WITH RAINBOWS
DOROTHY GALE, LEPRECHAUN, PRIDE, UNICORN. Dorothy Gale is connected to “Over the Rainbow”; folklore places a leprechaun’s pot of gold at a rainbow’s end; the rainbow flag is associated with LGBTQIA+ pride; and rainbows are often paired with unicorns.
Purple: BEGINNING WITH NUMBER HOMOPHONES
FIEVEL, FOREHEAD, TOUCAN, WONDER. Their opening sounds match five, four, two, and one, respectively.
Why the grid can mislead
The first three groups depend on meanings or cultural associations, while the purple group depends on sound. One tempting overlap is COUNT, HONEYBEE, LEPRECHAUN, and TIGER: together, those words can bring cereal mascots to mind, but they belong to different groups in this puzzle.
Playing or replaying Connections
The NYT Help Center says Connections is free to play on all platforms and that the daily game releases at midnight in the player’s timezone. Its archive goes back to June 12, 2023, and is available to All Access and Games subscribers. Archive play affects some statistics, but not current or maximum streaks. See the NYT Help Center’s Connections information for access details.
The answer groupings are corroborated by dated guides from TechRadar, Forbes, and The Word Finder. These are independent answer guides, not NYT-authored solution pages.
Quick Recap
Best Value
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
