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Need a nudge for NYT Connections #912? The four themes are taking something into account, striped animals, rainbow associations, and words that begin with number homophones. Hints come first; the full groups and answers are below the spoiler warning.
Hints for Connections #912
Try these clues before reading the answer key:
- Yellow: Give it some thought; these words can mean taking something into account.
- Green: Patterned beasts.
- Blue: Linked by a colourful prism.
- Purple: Sound like numerals.
Full answers for Tuesday, December 9
Spoilers: The four groups in puzzle #912 are:
| Color | Category | Answers | Why they fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow | BEAR IN MIND | CONSIDER, COUNT, FACTOR, INCLUDE | Each can mean to take something into account when assessing or planning. |
| Green | STRIPED ANIMALS | CLOWNFISH, HONEYBEE, TIGER, ZEBRA | Each is an animal with stripes. |
| Blue | ASSOCIATED WITH RAINBOWS | DOROTHY GALE, LEPRECHAUN, PRIDE, UNICORN | Dorothy Gale is linked to “Over the Rainbow”; folklore places a leprechaun’s pot of gold at a rainbow’s end; Pride is associated with the rainbow flag; and unicorns appear in the expression “rainbows and unicorns.” |
| Purple | BEGINNING WITH NUMBER HOMOPHONES | FIEVEL, FOREHEAD, TOUCAN, WONDER | Their openings sound like five, four, two, and one, respectively. |
The complete word bank
DOROTHY GALE · CLOWNFISH · TOUCAN · PRIDE · LEPRECHAUN · HONEYBEE · WONDER · TIGER · COUNT · ZEBRA · FOREHEAD · FACTOR · FIEVEL · CONSIDER · UNICORN · INCLUDE
The cereal-mascot decoy
One tempting false pattern is COUNT, HONEYBEE, LEPRECHAUN, and TIGER: they can bring to mind Count Chocula, Honey Nut Cheerios, Lucky Charms, and Tony the Tiger. But those words belong to separate categories here. COUNT fits the “bear in mind” group, HONEYBEE and TIGER are striped animals, and LEPRECHAUN connects to rainbows.
How the purple group works
Say the opening sound of each remaining word aloud: FIEvel begins like “five,” FOREhead like “four,” TOUcan like “two,” and WONder like “one.” The set depends on sound, not on the words’ meanings.
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About this puzzle
This is NYT Connections puzzle #912, dated Tuesday, December 9, 2025. TechRadar and Forbes published guides on December 8, 2025, and Parade published one on December 9. The answer sets are corroborated by those guides; the original NYT archive for this grid was not verified.
Sources: TechRadar’s Connections #912 guide; Forbes’ Connections hints and answers; Parade’s Connections guide.
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