NYT Connections Puzzle #766: Categories, Clues, and Full Answer for July 16, 2025

Connections is one of the New York Times’ most engaging word games, and it has steadily built a loyal following since its debut. Developed with input from associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu, the game challenges players to find hidden patterns among groups of words — making it as addictive as it is cerebral.

Like Wordle, Connections refreshes daily at midnight and is accessible on both desktop browsers and mobile devices.

How to Play Connections

Each puzzle presents you with 16 words. Your goal: group them into four sets of four words that share a common thread. The trick? Only one correct solution exists, and the categories can range from academic topics and pop culture to abstract concepts or linguistic tricks.

You get up to four mistakes before the game ends. Rearranging the grid often helps in spotting elusive patterns, especially when words appear to fit more than one group.

The four categories are color-coded by difficulty:

• Yellow – Easiest
• Green – Moderate
• Blue – Hard
• Purple – Most difficult

Puzzle #766 – July 16, 2025: Categories and Solution

If today’s puzzle had you scratching your head, here’s the breakdown of the official categories and the correct word groupings:

Categories

• Yellow: Parts of a college campus
• Green: Exaggerated, as a performance
• Blue: Close in on
• Purple: Starts of Greek letters

Solution

• Parts of a college campus – CAFETERIA, DORM, LIBRARY, QUAD
• Exaggerated, as a performance – CAMP, DRAMATIC, HAMMY, OVERDONE
• Close in on – CORNER, SURROUND, TRAP, TREE
• Starts of Greek letters – BET, DELT, LAMB, THE