Today's Connections Hints & Answers For April 22, 2025 (Puzzle #681) -

Unlike many other Connections puzzles, today’s riddle asks you to pair words based on how you would interact with them rather than their own definitions. The puzzle for today was a bit challenging for me, as many of the concepts were closely related from the beginning. This made it tricky to pair the right words together, especially if the right clues aren’t used to give you a head start.

While you don’t have to form a picture like the Vertex NYT game puzzles ask you to, the words today just might make you wish you had some visual references. You only have four chances to make mistakes before losing, so look at each word carefully. Don’t rely on your first instinct, as many words in today’s puzzle are trying to trick you with seemingly easy comparisons.

Today’s Connections Category Hints

April 22 #681

Today's Connections Hints & Answers For April 22, 2025 (Puzzle #681) Categories image

I was able to solve today’s puzzle by recognizing the theme – how you interact with certain words. Today’s puzzle is less concerned about definitions and more interested in how you interpret concepts when you use any of your five senses to observe or interact with them. For example, the word GREASE could mean the literal substance, but the puzzle wants to know how to slip and slide on it through physical interaction.

Even if you recognize the theme of today’s puzzle, here are some hints that will help you understand the categories tied to available words:

One category is about things related to how you describe stopping an ongoing project.
One category is about things you would see and use to create art, such as a beautiful vase.
One category is about things that would make you fall if you step on them.
One category is about things in nature that cause you to grow hot.

Wordle History: Today’s Answer & All Past Words

Wordle is a simple daily word game that has taken the internet by storm. With only 6 chances to get the right answer, players may need a little help.

If you want to go all out with some of your clue-searching, you should look at the category names to get some extra help. There are also spoilers for each category if you find yourself needing to solve a single category to finish up.

	CANCEL, AS A PROJECT
	SEEN IN A POTTERY STUDIO
	THINGS THAT ARE SLIPPERY
	NATURAL PRODUCERS OF LIGHT

Today’s Connections Answers

April 22 #681

Today's Connections Hints & Answers For April 22, 2025 (Puzzle #681) Answers image

Yellow Answers: Revealed & Explained

CANCEL, AS A PROJECT
AXE	CUT	DROP	SCRAP

CANCEL, AS A PROJECT

AXE

CUT

DROP

SCRAP

The first word that clued me into this part of the puzzle was SCRAP, as it didn’t seem to relate to many other phrases. As someone who has canceled many a project before, I understood that SCRAP, AXE, or DROP all refer to stopping something you’ve been working on, which gave me most of the right words. Remembering that DROP is something I once did for several university classes, I found the right pairings.

Green Answers: Revealed & Explained

SEEN IN A POTTERY STUDIO
CLAY	GLAZE	KILN	WHEEL

SEEN IN A POTTERY STUDIO

CLAY

GLAZE

KILN

WHEEL

I recognized the word KILN right away for this puzzle section since it is only really used to define a place where clay is burned after being modeled into a shape. Former art projects I’ve interacted with reminded me that you take CLAY and GLAZE it to apply colors before putting it in a KILN. Sometimes, having a pottery WHEEL also helps you shape clay before burning it, so all these factors together made the most sense for the puzzle solution.

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Blue Answers: Revealed & Explained

THINGS THAT ARE SLIPPERY
BANANA PEEL	EEL	GREASE	ICE

THINGS THAT ARE SLIPPERY

BANANA PEEL

EEL

GREASE

ICE

This part of the puzzle is what I did last, but not before I made a mistake regarding GREASE. I mistakenly put GREASE with the previous category, believing it to be a step in pottery, even though BANANA PEEL, ICE, and GREASE only make a connection based on how you interact with them. It’s too easy to slide on these objects or substances, including an EEL that fits best into the rest of the category.

Purple Answers: Revealed & Explained

NATURAL PRODUCERS OF HEAT
FIRE	LIGHTNING	SUN	VOLCANO

NATURAL PRODUCERS OF HEAT

FIRE

LIGHTNING

SUN

VOLCANO

This is a tricky part of the puzzle due to how you might mistake FIRE, ICE, and LIGHTNING as a connection of primordial elements. However, what helped me realize the key hint here was to recognize that the SUN, VOLCANO, and FIRE all burn people when anyone interacts with them. Similarly, LIGHTNING causes FIRE and burns whatever it hits, making it the natural word to have with the others.