If you’re looking for the Connections answer for Thursday, May 15, 2025, read on—I’ll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solutions to all four categories. Along the way, I’ll explain the meanings of the trickier words and we’ll learn how everything fits together. Beware, there are spoilers below for May 15, NYT Connections #704! Read on if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today’s Connections game.
If you want an easy way to come back to our Connections hints every day, bookmark this page. You can also find our past hints there as well, in case you want to know what you missed in a previous puzzle.
Below, I’ll give you some oblique hints at today’s Connections answers. And farther down the page, I’ll reveal the themes and the answers. Scroll slowly and take just the hints you need!
Hints for the themes in today’s Connections puzzle
Here are some spoiler-free hints for the groupings in today’s Connections:
Yellow category - Words describing one’s proof or justification.
Green category - Stuff that falls from the sky—only one of which is really suitable for skiing.
Blue category - Words you might see on a playbill when you’re settling in for a long show, likely sung in a foreign language.
Purple category - A fill-in-the-blank, with a word for when something is authentic or genuine.
BEWARE: Spoilers follow for today’s Connections puzzle!
We’re about to give away some of the answers. Scroll slowly if you don’t want the whole thing spoiled. (The full solution is a bit further down.)
A heads up about the tricky parts
I found today’s puzzle to be pretty tough.
SEVILLE and MADRID are both cities in Spain, but they don’t go together today.
MADRID is preceded by another word to form the name of a Spanish football club.
BESS is the name of a character who Porgy is trying to rescue. (Opera fans will have an easier time with this category.)
What are the categories in today’s Connections?
Yellow: RATIONALE
Green: TYPES OF SNOW
Blue: LAST WORDS OF FAMOUS OPERA TITLES
Purple: REAL ___
DOUBLE BEWARE: THE SOLUTION IS BELOW
Ready to learn the answers to today’s Connections puzzle? I give them all away below.
What are the yellow words in today’s Connections?
The yellow grouping is considered to be the most straightforward. The theme for today’s yellow group is RATIONALE and the words are: BASIS, FOUNDATION, GROUNDS, REASON.
What are the green words in today’s Connections?
The green grouping is supposed to be the second-easiest. The theme for today’s green category is TYPES OF SNOW and the words are: CRUST, ICE, POWDER, SLUSH.
What are the blue words in today’s Connections?
The blue grouping is the second-hardest. The theme for today’s blue category is LAST WORDS OF FAMOUS OPERA TITLES and the words are: BESS, BUTTERFLY, FLUTE, SEVILLE.
What are the purple words in today’s Connections?
The purple grouping is considered to be the hardest. The theme for today’s purple category is REAL ___ and the words are: DEAL, ESTATE, MADRID, WORLD.
How I solved today’s Connections
SEVILLE is a city in Spain, so maybe it goes with MADRID. I don’t see other Spanish cities, but I’m also not that familiar with the country, so maybe I’m missing some.
POWDER, SLUSH, and ICE could be types of snowfall. I’m not sure about a fourth.
BASIS, FOUNDATION, REASON, and GROUNDS seem like a fit—they’re all words for the justification for something. 🟨
I’m not sure what to make of BESS.
Maybe CRUST is the one that goes with POWDER, SLUSH, and ICE. I’m not entirely sure why, but it feels like a logical fourth to put with them. 🟩 Phew! Apparently that is also a type of snow.
The word “real” could go with WORLD (Real World is a reality show), ESTATE, and DEAL. I don’t see a fourth, though. After a quick Google, it looks like “Real MADRID” is the name of a professional Spanish football (or fútbol, if you like) club. Let’s try that. I have no other ideas right now. 🟪 Oh, wow! OK.
That leaves SEVILLE, FLUTE, BESS, and BUTTERFLY. I have no idea what’s going on with these. BESS could be a reference to Porgy and Bess, maybe? Let’s see. 🟦 Yes, I was right about Porgy and Bess. These are all the last words in opera titles: The Barber of Seville, Madame Butterfly, and The Magic Flute.
Today was a toughie for me.
Connections Puzzle #704 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟦🟦🟦🟦
How to play Connections
I have a full guide to playing Connections, but here’s a refresher on the rules:
First, find the Connections game either on the New York Times website or in their Games app (formerly the Crossword app). You’ll see a game board with 16 tiles, each with one word or phrase. Your job is to select a group of four tiles that have something in common. Often they are all the same type of thing (for example: RAIN, SLEET, HAIL, and SNOW are all types of wet weather) but sometimes there is wordplay involved (for example, BUCKET, GUEST, TOP TEN, and WISH are all types of lists: bucket list, guest list, and so on).
Select four items and hit the Submit button. If you guessed correctly, the category and color will be revealed. (Yellow is easiest, followed by green, then blue, then purple.) If your guess was incorrect, you’ll get a chance to try again.
You win when you’ve correctly identified all four groups. But if you make four mistakes before you finish, the game ends and the answers are revealed.
How to win Connections
The most important thing to know to win Connections is that the groupings are designed to be tricky. Expect to see overlapping groups. For example, one puzzle seemed to include six breakfast foods: BACON, EGG, PANCAKE, OMELET, WAFFLE, and CEREAL. But BACON turned out to be part of a group of painters along with CLOSE, MUNCH, and WHISTLER, and EGG was in a group of things that come by the dozen (along with JUROR, ROSE, and MONTH). So don’t hit “submit” until you’ve confirmed that your group of four contains only those four things.
If you’re stuck, another strategy is to look at the words that seem to have no connection to the others. If all that comes to mind when you see WHISTLER is the painting nicknamed “Whistler’s Mother,” you might be on to something. When I solved that one, I ended up googling whether there was a painter named Close, because Close didn’t fit any of the obvious themes, either.
Another way to win when you’re stuck is, obviously, to read a few helpful hints–which is why we share these pointers every day. Check back tomorrow for the next puzzle!