Connections Hints

Monday, March 17, 2025

Words from the NYT Connections puzzle — March 17, 2025

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Show the word gridAll 16 words — you figure out the groups
Show the themesCategory names only, no words revealed
One word per groupTheme name + one word per category
Full solutionAll words and explanations
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Word grid

All 16 words, sorted alphabetically. Group them into four categories of four.

ABANDON
BEN FOLDS
DUMP
FIBER
FREEDOM
GARBAGE
JACKSON
MAROON
MC
MONSTER
PICKUP
SPONTANEITY
STRAND
STRING
THREAD
UNRESTRAINT
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Themes

The four category names, easiest to hardest. No words revealed yet.

FILAMENTStraightforward
UNINHIBITEDNESSModerate
KINDS OF TRUCKSTricky
BANDS MINUS THE NUMBER FIVEDevious
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One word per group

Theme name plus one word from each category.

FILAMENTStraightforward
THESE WORDS ALL DESCRIBE A THIN, ELONGATED PIECE OF MATERIAL+ 3 more…
UNINHIBITEDNESSModerate
WORDS THAT DESCRIBE LETTING GO OF ALL RESTRICTIONS+ 3 more…
KINDS OF TRUCKSTricky
ADD 'TRUCK' AFTER EACH WORD TO NAME A SPECIFIC VEHICLE+ 3 more…
BANDS MINUS THE NUMBER FIVEDevious
THESE BECOME FAMOUS BANDS WHEN YOU ADD THE NUMBER 5 BACK IN+ 3 more…
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Full solution
FILAMENTStraightforward
FIBER,STRAND,STRING,THREAD

FIBER, STRAND, STRING, and THREAD all refer to thin, flexible lengths of material — synonyms for a filament.

UNINHIBITEDNESSModerate
ABANDON,FREEDOM,SPONTANEITY,UNRESTRAINT

ABANDON, FREEDOM, SPONTANEITY, and UNRESTRAINT are all synonyms for uninhibitedness — acting without holding back.

KINDS OF TRUCKSTricky
DUMP,GARBAGE,MONSTER,PICKUP

DUMP, GARBAGE, MONSTER, and PICKUP are all types of trucks — dump truck, garbage truck, monster truck, pickup truck.

BANDS MINUS THE NUMBER FIVEDevious
BEN FOLDS,JACKSON,MAROON,MC

BEN FOLDS (Five), JACKSON (Five — Jackson 5), MAROON (5 — Maroon 5), and MC (Hammer... wait — MC Hammer has no 5; these are all bands with '5' removed: Ben Folds Five, Jackson 5, Maroon 5, MC5).

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