Today's Connections Hints & Answers For February 23, 2025 (Puzzle #623)

If you find yourself in a pickle on today’s Connections puzzle, you can resolve that pickle by using some clues to start unraveling the knots. There are a lot of similarly themed words in this one, which can make it hard to start putting things together in the right way. However, you can only start putting it together after pulling it apart, as that is the only way to start separating the words out.

Another daily puzzle is the NYT’s Mini Crossword game, which takes the typical version of the puzzle and shrinks it down into a more manageable size to complete every day. There is always tons of potential in every crossword puzzle, as the clues can be just about anything. This version of it typically includes a lot of cultural references, so sometimes Connections can prepare you for some of those clues if you’re playing it often. It’s fun, tickles the right side of my brain, and doesn’t take very long to complete.

Today’s Connections Category Hints

FEBRUARY 23 #623

Some hints on today’s puzzle will be helpful, as in some way almost all of the words are food-related. This isn’t a coincidence, as the categories are also food-related. When they are all this similar, it is hard to get the puzzle right and I only managed it just in the nick of time. To help you manage it in a less stressful way, here are some clues:

One category is about how your teeth might process food
One category is about ways that you can make your food last longer
One category is about things that go on other types of food
One category is about food which can all be used as the same metaphor

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If you still need some tips and tricks, there is plenty left to go. The category names will help you out with this one, before getting the final bit of spoilers down at the end.

	RUB TOGETHER
	WAYS TO PRESERVE FOOD
	BREAKFAST CONDIMENTS
	PROVERBIAL THINGS THAT ARE SPILLED

Today’s Connections Answers

FEBRUARY 23 #623

Freeze in Connections Answers February 23

Yellow Answers: Revealed & Explained

RUB TOGETHER
GNASH	GRATE	GRIND	SCRAPE

RUB TOGETHER

GNASH

GRATE

GRIND

SCRAPE

This category is a little more generalized but these words are all often used in conjunction with food. You might GNASH your teeth, or GRATE your cheese. You can also GRIND your food or SCRAPE something off of it. However, because these are the words that are not directly food, it is the easiest category to put together. There are a few other words in the same situation, so it’s not an auto-win. And from here on out, things get a little harder to untangle as the words get more similar.

Green Answers: Revealed & Explained

WAYS TO PRESERVE FOOD
CAN	FERMENT	FREEZE	PICKLE

WAYS TO PRESERVE FOOD

CAN

FERMENT

FREEZE

PICKLE

This category begins some of the confusion, as CAN seems like it should go with JAM. And, in fact, JAM is a way to preserve food. PICKLE is also an actual food, but the rest of them are not. There are several ways to potentially mess up here because of all of those various factors, and I lost a guess or two here because of JAM. I decided out of all these words, JAM was the most likely to go with SYRUP, which is the only reason I eventually got this category correct.

A character jumping on a Connections board.

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Blue Answers: Revealed & Explained

BREAKFAST CONDIMENTS
BUTTER	HOT SAUCE	JAM	SYRUP

BREAKFAST CONDIMENTS

BUTTER

HOT SAUCE

JAM

SYRUP

With the last words in the puzzle, I thought SYRUP and JAM likely went together, but I originally had them with MILK and BUTTER as like things that would all go together. I still like MILK works better here than HOT SAUCE, although I realize that is probably a very cultural thing and dependent on what kind of food you eat at breakfast. I don’t think my stomach would love me if I started my day with hot sauce though, so that isn’t changing for me anytime soon.

Purple Answers: Revealed & Explained

PROVERBIAL THINGS THAT ARE SPILLED
BEANS	GUTS	MILK	TEA

PROVERBIAL THINGS THAT ARE SPILLED

BEANS

GUTS

MILK

TEA

Left with nothing else, I was able to grab these ones up. GUTS was the odd word in here, but even that is food if we’re talking about the insides of a chicken or cow. At first, I thought SYRUP and JAM might go with GUTS as things used to create special effects, but that was not what was going on in today’s puzzle. There were a lot of other things going on, but luckily we got in just under the wire. Now it’s on to the final conclusion for today.

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The final conclusion is that the puzzle is hard when all the words look like they should go together. But, if you want a puzzle not so word-based, check out Nerdle.