NYT Connections #847: Here’s all you need to know about the hints and answers for October 5 puzzle

Connections is a word puzzle from the New York Times where you see 16 different words on the screen. Your task is to sort them into four groups of four words. Each group is linked by a hidden theme, like “types of fruit” or “movie titles.”

The October 5, 2025 puzzle (number 847) had four such themes. In this article, there are hints for each theme for people who want help but do not want the full answer. Then, just below the hints, we show the complete solutions, the exact words, and how they are grouped into the four themes.

NYT Connections today's words

Today's words were bumper, cherish, clown, floor, frozen, getaway, holiday, music, pot, rock, seed, shake, shock, soil, sports, water

NYT Connections today hints and theme titles

The hints for each category (from easiest to hardest) are:

Yellow: gardening

Green: dumbfounded

Blue: songs of Madonna

Purple: words ending with “car”

NYT Connections today themes

used to grow a houseplant

flabbergast

Madonna songs

___car

Those four phrases are the hidden themes for the puzzle. “Used to grow a houseplant” means things you need to help a plant grow, like soil or water. “Flabbergast” means words about being surprised or shocked. “Madonna songs” are names of songs by the singer Madonna. “___car” means words you can join with “car,” like “bumper car” or “sports car.”

NYT Connections today full answers and groupings

Here are the four final theme labels and their matching words:

Used to grow a houseplant (yellow): pot, seed, soil, water

Flabbergast (green): floor, rock, shake, shock

Madonna songs (blue): cherish, frozen, holiday, music

___car (purple): bumper, clown, getaway, sports

Also read: NYT Connections #839: Here’s all you need to know about the hints and answers for September 27 game

Tips for solving Connections puzzles

When you play a Connections puzzle, it helps to begin with the category that feels easiest to identify, such as the yellow group. Solving that group first gives you a clearer picture of the remaining words. When you have identified one group of terms, move them out of the way so you have fewer to deal with. If a word does not appear to fit anywhere, set it away and try again later. Remember that clues usually refer to the idea of the group rather than the specific phrases, so think broadly about how the words can be linked.