If you’re looking for today’s NYT Connections hints, clues, and answers for puzzle #696, you’re in the right place. Let’s break down the puzzle for May 7, 2025 — from light yellow to tricky purple.
The New York Times’ Connections puzzle continues to challenge players with clever word associations and tricky connections, and today’s game features one category inspired by Tarot cards — a rare but engaging twist.
How To Play NYT Connections
Each day, Connections presents you with a 4×4 grid of 16 seemingly unrelated words. Your job is to group them into four categories of four words each based on a shared theme — whether it’s synonyms, trivia, cultural references, or puns. The groups are color-coded by difficulty:
- Yellow: Easiest
- Green: Medium
- Blue: Hard
- Purple: Tricky or unexpected
If you group incorrectly four times, the game ends — so tread carefully!
Also read: Today’s Wordle Hints, Clues & Answer for May 7 Puzzle #1418
Hints for Today’s NYT Connections Puzzle (May 7, #696)
Need a nudge before diving into the answers? Here are some light hints to help get you started, ranked in increasing difficulty:
- Yellow group hint: Wear a cast.
- Green group hint: Not so fast, you.
- Blue group hint: Tarot.
- Purple group hint: Think jewelry and homophones.
Feeling confident? Scroll down for the categories and full answers!
Today’s NYT Connections Categories and Answers
Let’s reveal the solutions for May 7’s puzzle. If you’re still working it out, now’s your last chance to avoid spoilers.
Yellow Group: Get Better, As a Broken Bone
This one should be familiar if you’ve ever had a cast or suffered an injury.
- Heal
- Knit
- Mend
- Recover
All four words relate to the process of recovery or healing.
Green Group: Not Including
This group might have tripped you up if you weren’t thinking about exclusions.
- Besides
- But
- Except
- Save
All of these words are used when leaving something out.
Blue Group: Tarot Minor Arcana Suits
Here’s where things got a little mystical. If you know your Tarot deck, this might have been an easy catch.
- Cups
- Pentacles
- Swords
- Wands
These are the four suits found in the Tarot’s Minor Arcana. Even if you’re not a Tarot reader, they’re common enough to recognize.
Also read: Quordle Hints and Answers for Tuesday, May 7 (Game #1199)
Purple Group: Homophones of Gemstones
This was the trickiest group of the day — a clever mix of wordplay and sound-alikes.
- Choral (sounds like Coral)
- Opel (sounds like Opal)
- Purl (sounds like Pearl)
- Quarts (sounds like Quartz)
These aren’t actual gemstones, but homophones — words that sound like the real thing.
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Final Thoughts
Puzzle #696 for May 7 was a creative mix of logic, wordplay, and trivia. The Tarot theme in the blue category added an unusual twist, but the real curveball was the homophone-based purple group — a classic example of Connections messing with our expectations.
Personally, I started with the green category — “But,” “Except,” and “Besides” popped out immediately. From there, “Heal” and “Mend” led me to yellow. The Tarot category took a second, but once I remembered “Pentacles,” the rest fell into place. Purple took the longest, and I needed a moment to realize “Purl” and “Opel” weren’t typos!
See you tomorrow for another set of Connections hints, tips, and answers. Until then, happy puzzling!
