Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.
Today’s Connections puzzle is pretty fun. There are a couple of royal titles that might throw you off, though Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.
The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.
Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time
Hints for today’s Connections groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group, to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Think science.
Green group hint: Found in schools.
Blue group hint: Chilly Willy.
Purple group hint: Fifth letter.
Answers for today’s Connections groups
Yellow group: Member of a kingdom in taxonomy.
Green group: Graduated instruments.
Blue group: Kinds of penguins.
Purple group: “E” things.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections answers?
The completed NYT Connections puzzle for May 17, 2025 ,#706.
NYT/Screenshot by CNET
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is member of a kingdom in taxonomy. The four answers are animal, bacteria, fungus and plant.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is graduated instruments. The four answers are beaker, protractor, ruler and syringe.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is kinds of penguins. The four answers are chinstrap, emperor, king and macaroni.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is “E” things. The four answers are commerce, mail, scooter and signature.
Quick tips for Connections
#1: Say the clue words out loud, pausing before and after each. That helps you hear the words in the context of a phrase. The Connections editors love to group words together that are used in similar phrasing, like ____ Up.
#2: Don’t go for the obvious grouping. These editors are smart. Once, they offered SPONGE, BOB, SQUARE and PANTS in the same puzzle. None of those words were in the same category. If you like, hit the “shuffle” button to give yourself a different perspective on the words.
#3: Break down any compound words and look for similarities. “Rushmore” was once in a puzzle where the connection was that each word started with the name of a rock band.
