On 15 November 2025 the NYT Connections grid mixed tidy categories and slippery overlaps — four sets of four words requiring pattern-spotting and lateral thought. Hints and full answers below now
The NYT Connections challenge sorts 16 words into four groups of four. On 15 November 2025 the grid balanced literal groupings with a few playful pairings that could mislead at first glance. Below you’ll find carefully written hints followed by the full answers.
NYT Connections Puzzle Overview: 15 November 2025
Today’s grid leaned on tidy lexical families — everyday items, punctuation, actor descriptors, and familiar “___ zone” compounds. Solvers who scanned for common modifiers and noun pairs moved fastest; others were tripped up by overlap possibilities.
NYT Connections Hints: 15 November 2025
Category 1:
- Things you commonly add to food to change taste.
- Can describe both aroma and intensity.
- Often measured in small amounts in recipes.
- A word that also names a general variety or style.
Category 2:
- Marks used in writing to organize or separate text.
- One of these appears in many web addresses.
- Often signals the end of a sentence or an abbreviation.
- Sometimes used to show a pause, range, or connection.
Category 3:
- Labels for different ways people perform or take part in drama.
- One term refers to a role within a story.
- Another refers to the performance medium itself.
- Includes approaches to training or preparation for roles.
Category 4:
- Pairs with words to form familiar two-word phrases ending in “zone.”
- One pairing names a mental comfort area.
- Another names a band tied to longitude.
- A pop-culture series is referenced by one pairing.
NYT Connections Answers: 15 November 2025
Here are the answers, grouped by category.
Category 1:
Category 2:
Category 3:
Category 4:
Conclusion & Quick Strategy Tip
Today’s puzzle felt approachable but required careful screening for exact phrasing — several words could plausibly sit in more than one pile until the right theme snapped into place. The groups rewarded both literal and associative thinking.
Quick strategy tip: scan for shared modifiers (words that commonly precede or follow others) first — they often reveal an entire group in one move.
