NYT Connections December 7 — Puzzle #910 Solved and Explained

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle (#910) challenged players with a mix of fast-action vocabulary, culinary terminology, woodworking references and a clever Spanish-language twist. If you struggled to sort today’s 16 words into their correct groups, you’re not alone. Many solvers called this puzzle tricky due to unfamiliar joinery terms and a purple category that required cultural knowledge.

Connections, one of The New York Times’ fastest-growing daily puzzle games, asks players to organize 16 words into four categories of related terms. Difficulty increases by color: Yellow (easy), Green (moderate), Blue (hard), and Purple (trickiest or most unexpected).

Below, we break down the hints, the category themes and today’s full set of answers.

Hints for Today’s NYT Connections (Dec. 7, #910)

To guide players without giving everything away, here are clue prompts for each category:

• Yellow Group Hint: Zoom!

• Green Group Hint: Butcher shop

• Blue Group Hint: Carpenter

• Purple Group Hint: Spanish for “the”

If those clues steered you toward motion, meat, woodworking and language, you were already close.

Answers for Today’s NYT Connections Puzzle

Yellow Group — Move at breakneck speed

Words: Barrel, Bolt, Hurtle, Tear
All four terms describe fast, forceful motion — commonly used in action scenes, sports commentary or high-adrenaline situations.

Green Group — Organ meats

Words: Gizzard, Heart, Tongue, Tripe
Recognized in culinary contexts across many cultures, these meats are staples in traditional recipes, butcher counters and gourmet dining.

Blue Group — Woodworking joint terms

Words: Dado, Dovetail, Mitre, Mortise
These four refer to classic joinery techniques essential in carpentry and fine furniture building, making this category tricky for non-woodworkers.

Purple Group — El ____

Words: Capitan, Dorado, Greco, Paso
Each answer completes a phrase beginning with the Spanish article “El”, often referring to places, cultural icons or titles.

Why Today’s Puzzle Felt Difficult

Many players noted that the Blue and Purple groups required specialized knowledge. Words like dado and mortise rarely appear outside woodworking contexts, and El Dorado or El Greco could easily mislead solvers into geographical or artistic categories.

The introduction of the Connections Bot—similar to the Wordle review tool—now allows players to analyze their attempts, track streaks and compare accuracy. This feature continues to increase engagement and competition among puzzle fans.