NYT Connections Answer (July 22): Decode Sass, Patterns, & Pie. Hints, Tips & Solutions Here
NYT Connections Answers: NYT Connections puzzle #772 is out, and if today’s groupings have left you confused, we’re here to help. This popular word game from The New York Times challenges players to sort sixteen words into four themed groups. Some days bring clear patterns, while others test your vocabulary and lateral thinking.
Here is a full breakdown of the colours, clues, and answers for Tuesday, July 22, 2025.
How To Play NYT Connections
Connections is a word association puzzle by the New York Times. You’re given 16 words and must sort them into four groups of four based on a shared theme.
Each group is colour-coded in increasing order of difficulty: yellow (easy), green (moderate), blue (hard), and purple (most difficult). You get four mistakes before the grid resets. It’s a test of logic, language and lateral thinking.
Yellow Category: Sassiness Or Bold Talk
This category focuses on attitude-filled expressions and behaviours that suggest someone is being cheeky, outspoken or impertinent. If you thought literally about body parts or mouth movements, you might have gone down the wrong path. These words are about delivering some sass, not anatomy.
These words often appear when someone is talking back or showing boldness in speech. Spotting the tone behind them was the key.
Green Category: To Reduce Intensity
All these words describe actions that soften, weaken or tone something down. Whether it’s emotions, physical force or a situation, these verbs are used when you want to make something less intense or severe. If you were thinking only about soft materials or sound, you may have missed the broader effect-based link.
- Cushion
- Dampen
- Soften
- Temper
These verbs serve to neutralise energy or tension. It helps to think of their figurative meanings, not just literal ones.
Blue Category: Patterns
At first glance, these words might seem unrelated. But the key is to visualise them. They are all types of patterns you can see either in design, nature or everyday objects. The mix of camouflage, board games, bees and stripes might’ve thrown you off unless you thought visually.
- Camo
- Checkers
- Honeycomb
- Stripes
They all describe repeating or structured visual patterns, and realising that connection might have required switching from words to images.
Purple Category: ___ Pie
This group is all about phrases that complete the blank in “___ pie.” While some like “humble pie” and “cutie pie” are more figurative, others like “chess pie” and “whoopie pie” refer to actual desserts. The trick was thinking in compounds and idioms, not just flavours or baking ingredients.
- Chess
- Cutie
- Humble
- Whoopie
You had to think creatively and rely on familiarity with both American desserts and expressions to crack this set.
Today’s NYT Connections puzzle was a quirky mix of sass, subtlety, vision and desserts. Whether you picked up on the cheeky tone early or puzzled over pattern names, this puzzle reminded us how varied language can be. Come back tomorrow for a new breakdown and see if your streak can survive another day.
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