Connections Hints

Sunday, December 21, 2025

Words from the NYT Connections puzzle — December 21, 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.

AIR
CIRCULATION
EAVES
EMERGE
FLOW
GUM
HANDLE
ISSUE
LID
PERIODICALS
RAIN
REFERENCE
RESULT
SPOUT
STACKS
STRAINER
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Themes

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

FEATURES OF A TEAPOTStraightforward
LIBRARY SECTIONSModerate
ARISETricky
___DROPDevious
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One word per group

Theme name plus one word from each category.

FEATURES OF A TEAPOTStraightforward
PARTS YOU'D FIND ON THE CLASSIC KITCHEN VESSEL FOR BREWING TEA+ 3 more…
LIBRARY SECTIONSModerate
DIFFERENT ZONES OR DEPARTMENTS WITHIN A PUBLIC LIBRARY+ 3 more…
ARISETricky
WORDS MEANING TO COME FORTH, ORIGINATE, OR STEM FROM SOMETHING+ 3 more…
___DROPDevious
EACH OF THESE WORDS CAN PRECEDE DROP TO FORM A COMMON COMPOUND WORD+ 3 more…
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Full solution
FEATURES OF A TEAPOTStraightforward
HANDLE,LID,SPOUT,STRAINER

HANDLE, LID, SPOUT, and STRAINER are all physical parts or features of a teapot

LIBRARY SECTIONSModerate
CIRCULATION,PERIODICALS,REFERENCE,STACKS

CIRCULATION, PERIODICALS, REFERENCE, and STACKS are all sections or areas found in a library

ARISETricky
EMERGE,FLOW,ISSUE,RESULT

EMERGE, FLOW, ISSUE, and RESULT all mean to arise or come out of something

___DROPDevious
AIR,EAVES,GUM,RAIN

AIR, EAVES, GUM, and RAIN can each be followed by DROP to make AIRDROP, EAVESDROP, GUMDROP, and RAINDROP

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