Connections Hints

Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Words from the NYT Connections puzzle — December 23, 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.

ACHILLES’ HEEL
BRATZ
DARTH VADER
DOGMA
DOWNFALL
DRACULA
FIXATION
FRANKENSTEIN
KRYPTONITE
LINKLATER
LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD
OEDIPUS COMPLEX
SOFT SPOT
SUPEREGO
SUPERMAN
UNCONSCIOUS
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Themes

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

VULNERABILITYStraightforward
FREUDIAN CONCEPTSModerate
CHARACTERS IN CAPESTricky
STARTING WITH SLANG FOR SAUSAGEDevious
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One word per group

Theme name plus one word from each category.

VULNERABILITYStraightforward
EACH OF THESE IS A WEAKNESS OR WEAK POINT FOR SOMEONE+ 3 more…
FREUDIAN CONCEPTSModerate
TERMS FROM THE FATHER OF PSYCHOANALYSIS+ 3 more…
CHARACTERS IN CAPESTricky
FAMOUS FICTIONAL FIGURES KNOWN FOR WEARING CAPES+ 3 more…
STARTING WITH SLANG FOR SAUSAGEDevious
EACH WORD OR NAME BEGINS WITH SLANG FOR A SAUSAGE+ 3 more…
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Full solution
VULNERABILITYStraightforward
ACHILLES’ HEEL,DOWNFALL,KRYPTONITE,SOFT SPOT

ACHILLES' HEEL, DOWNFALL, KRYPTONITE, and SOFT SPOT are all words or phrases meaning a vulnerability or weakness.

FREUDIAN CONCEPTSModerate
FIXATION,OEDIPUS COMPLEX,SUPEREGO,UNCONSCIOUS

FIXATION, OEDIPUS COMPLEX, SUPEREGO, and UNCONSCIOUS are all concepts introduced or popularized by Sigmund Freud in psychoanalytic theory.

CHARACTERS IN CAPESTricky
DARTH VADER,DRACULA,LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD,SUPERMAN

DARTH VADER, DRACULA, LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD, and SUPERMAN are all iconic characters recognizably associated with wearing a cape.

STARTING WITH SLANG FOR SAUSAGEDevious
BRATZ,DOGMA,FRANKENSTEIN,LINKLATER

Each starts with slang for sausage: BRAT(Z), DOG(MA), FRANK(ENSTEIN), and LINK(LATER) — brat, dog, frank, and link are all informal words for sausage.

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