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Spoiler warning: NYT Connections #934 answers are below. The Wednesday, December 31, 2025 puzzle groups its 16 entries around New Year’s Eve, disappearances, Philadelphia, and water-related prefixes.
Spoiler warning: The complete answers to NYT Connections puzzle #934 appear below. If you only want help, stop after the hint sections.
NYT Connections #934: Wednesday, December 31, 2025
The answers for Wednesday, December 31, 2025 are:
- Yellow — HAPPY NEW YEAR!: BALL DROP, CHAMPAGNE FLUTE, FIREWORKS, NOISEMAKER
- Green — PLACES WHERE THINGS DISAPPEAR: BERMUDA TRIANGLE, BLACK HOLE, COUCH CUSHIONS, DRYER
- Blue — ASSOCIATED WITH PHILADELPHIA: BROTHERLY LOVE, CHEESESTEAK, LIBERTY BELL, ROCKY
- Purple — STARTING WITH BODIES OF WATER: BAY LEAF, CHANNEL SURF, SEA BASS, SOUND BARRIER
This is puzzle #934. Be careful with the date: the December 31 puzzle from 2024 was a different game, numbered #569.
How NYT Connections works
Connections gives you 16 words and asks you to divide them into four groups of four. Each group has a hidden connection, but several words may appear to fit more than one category. You get four mistakes before the game ends, so it helps to identify the most obvious group first and treat tempting overlaps as possible red herrings.
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You can play Connections through the New York Times Games website or app.
The 16 words in Connections #934
Here is the complete grid for Wednesday, December 31:
| Word or phrase | Word or phrase | Word or phrase | Word or phrase |
|---|---|---|---|
| SOUND BARRIER | CHAMPAGNE FLUTE | ROCKY | SEA BASS |
| BERMUDA TRIANGLE | NOISEMAKER | LIBERTY BELL | DRYER |
| FIREWORKS | COUCH CUSHIONS | CHANNEL SURF | CHEESESTEAK |
| BLACK HOLE | BAY LEAF | BROTHERLY LOVE | BALL DROP |
Hints for Connections #934
These clues are arranged from least revealing to most revealing.
Yellow-group hint
Think about the traditions and objects associated with celebrating the arrival of a new year.
Rank #2
Green-group hint
This group includes places—or everyday locations—where missing things are said to vanish.
Blue-group hint
All four entries have a strong connection to Philadelphia.
Purple-group hint
Look at the beginning of each phrase. Every first word is a body of water or a term for a water feature.
One answer from each group
For a stronger nudge without giving away the complete grid, one representative answer from each category is:
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- Green: DRYER
- Blue: CHEESESTEAK
- Purple: SOUND BARRIER
More spoilers below.
NYT Connections #934 answers and explanations
Yellow: HAPPY NEW YEAR!
BALL DROP, CHAMPAGNE FLUTE, FIREWORKS, NOISEMAKER
These are all familiar parts of New Year’s Eve celebrations. The ball drop marks the countdown to midnight, while a champagne flute is commonly used for celebratory sparkling wine. Fireworks and noisemakers provide the visual and audible spectacle associated with the holiday.
Green: PLACES WHERE THINGS DISAPPEAR
BERMUDA TRIANGLE, BLACK HOLE, COUCH CUSHIONS, DRYER
The Bermuda Triangle is a famous cultural explanation for ships and aircraft allegedly vanishing. A black hole is a literal cosmic object from which matter and light cannot escape once they pass the event horizon. The other two are everyday jokes: small objects disappear between couch cushions or inside a clothes dryer.
This category is intentionally broad. It combines famous or imagined locations of disappearance with places where household items routinely seem to go missing.
Blue: ASSOCIATED WITH PHILADELPHIA
BROTHERLY LOVE, CHEESESTEAK, LIBERTY BELL, ROCKY
Philadelphia’s name is derived from Greek roots associated with “brotherly love,” making BROTHERLY LOVE a direct clue. The city is also strongly associated with the cheesesteak and the Liberty Bell.
ROCKY refers to the fictional boxer and the film series. The character’s Philadelphia setting, along with the famous training sequence on the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps, gives the word its place in this group.
Purple: STARTING WITH BODIES OF WATER
BAY LEAF, CHANNEL SURF, SEA BASS, SOUND BARRIER
Each phrase starts with a water-related term:
- BAY + leaf
- CHANNEL + surf
- SEA + bass
- SOUND + barrier
Here, sound means a body of water, such as a coastal inlet—not an audible noise. The category is based on the first word of each phrase rather than on a shared meaning among the four complete phrases.
Why this puzzle can be tricky
The Philadelphia group is the most recognizable once three entries are found, but ROCKY is a cultural reference rather than a landmark or food. That can make it harder to spot.
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There are also several deliberate traps:
- SOUND BARRIER looks as if it might belong with something involving noise, but SOUND is being used as a water term in the purple group.
- SEA BASS and BAY LEAF can both look like food-related entries, even though their opening words are the important part.
- DRYER may suggest clothes or laundry, but it belongs with places where objects mysteriously disappear.
- The purple category is a word-prefix construction. The full phrases do not need to describe the same kind of thing.
A reliable solving approach is to separate the entries that share an obvious cultural setting—such as New Year’s Eve or Philadelphia—from entries that only match because of one word at the start of a phrase.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was NYT Connections #934 published?
NYT Connections puzzle #934 was published on Wednesday, December 31, 2025. The December 31, 2024 puzzle was #569, a separate game.
What are the Connections #934 categories?
The four categories are HAPPY NEW YEAR!, PLACES WHERE THINGS DISAPPEAR, ASSOCIATED WITH PHILADELPHIA, and STARTING WITH BODIES OF WATER.
Why is SOUND BARRIER in the purple category?
In the purple group, SOUND refers to a body of water, such as a coastal inlet. The full group is BAY LEAF, CHANNEL SURF, SEA BASS, and SOUND BARRIER.
The Bottom Line
NYT Connections #934, for Wednesday, December 31, 2025, groups its words around New Year’s Eve celebrations, places where things disappear, Philadelphia, and phrases beginning with bodies of water. The puzzle is not the December 31, 2024 game—that earlier edition was #569.
Quick Recap
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