Today's Connections Hints & Answers For April 28, 2025 (Puzzle #687) -

Association is the theme behind today’s Connections puzzle, as every word is directly used to surround and help describe certain categories. I found that it was easy to get tricked by the puzzle’s topics today due to the simplicity behind various patterns. With phrases easily describing the category they’re associated with, it’s easy to get fooled into overthinking without the right hints.

Those who have found a good number of Wordle puzzle solutions will understand that sometimes the best answer to a Connections puzzle is the simplest. Since you only have four chances to make a mistake, you don’t have many chances to misinterpret a word’s meaning. I found that thinking about every way one phrase is used in sentences will give you a great head start when solving today’s puzzle.

Today’s Connections Category Hints

April 28 #687

Today's Connections Hints & Answers For April 28, 2025 (Puzzle #687) Categories image

I made sure to separate ideas that are too similar to help myself solve today’s puzzle, despite the theme of association prevalent in it. Instead, I focused on looking up the definitions of each phrase, including the multiple contexts they could be used. For example, EXHAUST could be used to describe being tired, or as a part of a car, depending on what meaning the puzzle is looking for.

Here are some helpful hints that can get you thinking about each category present in today’s puzzle:

One category is about things you would use to style your hair.
One category is about things that are defined as terms you would relate to a serious attitude.
One category is about things you would find in association with a police investigation.
One category is about things you would use to describe how you feel after a long day of hard work.

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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.

	HAIR PRODUCTS
	AUSTERE
	CLUES AT A CRIME SCENE
	WEARY

Today’s Connections Answers

April #687

Today's Connections Hints & Answers For April 28, 2025 (Puzzle #687) Answers image

Yellow Answers: Revealed & Explained

HAIR PRODUCTS
GEL	MOUSSE	SPRAY	WAX

HAIR PRODUCTS

GEL

MOUSSE

SPRAY

WAX

This was the easiest part of the puzzle for me, as hair WAX and hair GEL were products I understood the purpose of. To follow that premise, MOUSSE and hair SPRAY are both commonly used to dress up someone’s hair, making them work perfectly together in a group. This set the theme of today’s puzzle, as each word refers to how closely they associate with one another.

Green Answers: Revealed & Explained

AUSTERE
BARE	PLAIN	SIMPLE	SPARE

AUSTERE

BARE

PLAIN

SIMPLE

SPARE

This part of the puzzle was very challenging for me, as I could not find any of the right words after PLAIN and SIMPLE. While these two words seemed to work well together, SPARE was something I associated with a TIRE, as a reference to needing a spare tire for a car. I was eventually able to find the solution by visualizing the words in this puzzle section, which created a connection between how BARE and PLAIN could relate to SPARE and SIMPLE.

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Blue Answers: Revealed & Explained

CLUES AT A CRIME SCENE
FIBER	FINGERPRINT	HAIR	TIRE MARK

CLUES AT A CRIME SCENE

FIBER

FINGERPRINT

HAIR

TIRE MARK

Both FINGERPRINT and TIRE MARK are complex enough words to have limited definitions, so I thought about where I would see both terms. Police crime scenes usually feature HAIR, FINGERPRINT, and TIRE MARK pieces as evidence to help paint a picture of what happened. Once I understood this, I included FIBER for fibers of clothing that are also used to help catch culprits at the scene of a crime.

Purple Answers: Revealed & Explained

WEARY
BORE	DRAIN	EXHAUST	TIRE

WEARY

BORE

DRAIN

EXHAUST

TIRE

This part of the puzzle was easier to solve than I expected, even though I almost got fooled by EXHAUST. Originally, I believed that EXHAUST fit with TIRE to explain parts of a car, but the lack of BORE with the Austere category gave me pause. I realized that DRAIN and EXHAUST also refer to “drained” or “exhausted,” leading me to include TIRE for tired and BORE for bored to get the whole pattern together.