NYT Connections puzzle #708 was published on Monday, May 19, 2025. The grid asks you to split 16 words into four groups of four. Use the graduated clues below before opening the full solution.
Words in Connections #708
The 16 entries are:
- MELON
- BALL
- CHANCE
- BAWL
- SOUL
- BLUBBER
- FUNCTION
- FLUKE
- UTILITY
- TOW
- AVENUE
- BENEFIT
- FLIPPER
- RAILROAD
- GALA
- HEAL
Hints for Monday, May 19
Try these from least specific to most specific:
- Think of a big bash connected to a good cause.
- Some entries are things you can encounter on a famous property-trading board.
- Several words describe parts or features of a marine mammal.
- The last group sounds like body parts rather than spelling them directly.
Spoiler warning: the answers
The complete groups and their category labels are below.
| Category | Words |
|---|---|
| Fundraising event | BALL, BENEFIT, FUNCTION, GALA |
| Spaces on a Monopoly board | AVENUE, CHANCE, RAILROAD, UTILITY |
| Features of a toothed whale | BLUBBER, FLIPPER, FLUKE, MELON |
| Homophones of parts of the foot | BAWL (ball), HEAL (heel), SOUL (sole), TOW (toe) |
Why the final group is tricky
BAWL, HEAL, SOUL and TOW are not the names of foot parts as written. They are sound-alikes for ball, heel, sole and toe. That sound-based connection can be easy to miss while you are sorting the more literal groups.
How the misdirection works
Connections allows a word to suggest several plausible relationships before the full set becomes clear. For this grid, BALL can look like part of the sound-alike group, while MELON and FLUKE may initially seem unrelated to the other whale terms. Checking for four-word patterns, rather than committing to the first pair you notice, helps separate the literal categories from the homophone category.
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