NYT Connections Hints Today, December 18, 2025: All Clues And Puzzle Breakdown

NYT Connections For Today December 18, 2025: The New York Times Connections puzzle gives you 16 words every day. The NYT Connections puzzle for December 18, 2025 is another fun mix of ideas and tricky words. Today’s grid asks players to spot common phrases and themes hidden among 16 everyday words. Some groups stand out quickly, while others need a second look. Below, you’ll find today’s full word list, hints, answers, and easy tips to help you solve the puzzle without spoiling the fun:

Today's NYT Connections For December 18, 2025 Word List

Here are today’s 16 words players will see in the puzzle: 

• HERO

• BUTTERFLY

• FELT

• FANCY

• GLITTER

• FANTASY

• STAR

• MEDIA

• DAYDREAM

• WORKER

• PRINCIPAL

• POMPOM

• SECURITY

• LEAD

• PIPE CLEANER

• ILLUSION

Today's NYT Connections Hints For December 18, 2025

Try these hints before seeing full categories and answers:

• Green Group: Protagonist

• Yellow Group: Bit of wishful thinking

• Blue Group: Arts and crafts components

• Purple Group: Social ___

Today's NYT Connections Categories For December 18, 2025

• Green Group: Words that describe the main character or star of a story.

• Yellow Group: Words you might use when imagining or dreaming of something.

• Blue Group: Items often used in arts and crafts projects.

• Purple Group: Words that fit after ‘Social’ to form a common phrase.

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Today's NYT Connections For December 18, 2025 Answers

Below are the four correct groups for today’s puzzle: 

• Yellow Group: DAYDREAM, FANCY, FANTASY, ILLUSION

• Green Group: HERO, LEAD, PRINCIPAL, STAR

• Blue Group: FELT, GLITTER, PIPE CLEANER, POMPOM

• Purple Group: BUTTERFLY, MEDIA, SECURITY, WORKER

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Tips To Solve NYT Connections For December 18, 2025:

Here are simple tips to help you crack NYT Connections puzzles more often: 

• Start with obvious links: Look for sets of words that clearly belong together first.

• Use the shuffle: Rearranging the grid can make hidden links jump out.

• Think of common phrases: Some groups are based on familiar expressions (like social butterfly).

• Group by theme, not letters: Words connect by meaning, not spelling patterns.

Happy solving!

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Image credit: New York Times and Freepik