NYT Connections Answers (May 22): Today's Puzzle Twists The Brain. Check Out Solutions

NYT Connections Answers Today: If Thursday mornings weren’t puzzling enough, today’s New York Times Connections game throws in a dose of green-skinned oddballs, political landmarks, and mind-bending riddle-givers. Connections #710, published on May 22, 2025, might just leave even seasoned solvers scratching their heads. But fear not — if the word clusters stumped you, we’re here to break it down, hint by hint.

What’s The Game, Anyway?

Connections is the New York Times' daily brainteaser that challenges players to sort 16 seemingly unrelated words into four groups of four, based on a common link. The trick? These links can be sneaky, pun-laden, or downright deceptive. Themes range from pop culture and politics to wordplay and double meanings. With only four mistakes allowed before the game ends, every guess counts.

Today’s word set included a peculiar mix:
Asterisk, Shrek, Bridge Troll, Pool, Hulk, Sphinx, Catch, Grinch, Riddler, Elphaba, Obelisk, Strings, Capitol, Condition, Mad Hatter, and Mall.

The goal: identify the themes that connect four of them at a time.

Hints That Help (Without Giving It All Away)

The NYT dropped a few sly nudges to guide solvers along.

  • For the Yellow group, players were told to focus on “sneaky details.”
  • Green was said to be linked to “a colour.”
  • Blue hinted at something “seen in Washington D.C.”
  • And Purple teased, “They like to play games…”

Still confused? Here’s a bit more help: Asterisk and obelisk are in different groups, and put the characters together, then try to divide them by looks. Intrigued yet?

And The Answers Are…

If you gave it your all and still came up short, don’t worry — today's categories were a quirky bunch. Here’s how the 16 words were grouped:

  • Yellow (Fine Print): Asterisk, Catch, Condition, Strings
  • Green (Characters With Green Skin): Elphaba, Grinch, Hulk, Shrek
  • Blue (Features Of The National Mall In D.C.): Capitol, Mall, Obelisk, Pool
  • Purple (Famous Riddle-Givers): Bridge Troll, Mad Hatter, Riddler, Sphinx

No shame if you didn’t crack it — sometimes the puzzle wins. As the NYT notes, “We all get lucky with a theme to match our personal interest from time to time, but just as often we stumble upon themes we know nothing about.”

Still Addicted? You’re Not Alone

Connections continues to grow in popularity alongside NYT’s other puzzling hit, Wordle. Its blend of logic, trivia, and trickery keeps players coming back day after day. And when the themes are as delightfully random as “green-skinned characters” and “riddle-givers,” who could resist?

Ready to try your luck again? Tomorrow brings a whole new set of Connections.

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