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Use the quick hints first if you want to protect your streak. The full answers and explanations are farther down the page.
Monitor
Printer
Trackpad
Compact
Compressed
Dense
Squashed
Francium
Lead
Mercury
Polonium
Cranium
Croquette
Ductile
Hockey
The NYT Connections puzzle for June 25, 2026 (puzzle #1183) had one gentle group, one synonym cluster, and one wordplay group that tricked a lot of people. Here are the hints and answers today, plus a plain-English breakdown of why each group worked.
If you like a running streak, you can also check the NYT Connections hints and answers for June 24, 2026 and come back tomorrow for the June 26, 2026 Connections guide.
Today’s Connections Words
Here are the 16 words in the grid:
Microphone, Monitor, Printer, Trackpad, Compact, Compressed, Dense, Squashed, Francium, Lead, Mercury, Polonium, Cranium, Croquette, Ductile, Hockey.
Four groups. Four words each. One overlap trap and one sneaky sound-based group are hiding in there.
Quick No-Spoiler Hints
No answers here, just nudges.
- Yellow: gear you plug into a computer.
- Green: words that mean packed tight.
- Blue: elements you really should not touch.
- Purple: say the first sound out loud and listen for a bird.
Stronger Hints
Getting warmer.
- Yellow: not the computer itself, the stuff around it.
- Green: synonyms for squished into a small space.
- Blue: metals on the periodic table with a danger label.
- Purple: each word starts with a sound that matches a bird’s name.
Today’s Connections Answers
Spoilers start now.
- Computer Peripherals: Microphone, Monitor, Printer, Trackpad
- Tightly Packed: Compact, Compressed, Dense, Squashed
- Hazardous Elemental Metals: Francium, Lead, Mercury, Polonium
- Starting With Bird Homophones: Cranium, Croquette, Ductile, Hockey
Why Each Group Works
Here is the reasoning for each group, plus the trap that came with it.
Computer Peripherals (Microphone, Monitor, Printer, Trackpad). These are add-on devices you connect to a computer, not core parts. They belong together because none of them is the machine itself. The trap: a monitor can mean many things, and mercury sounds techy too, so people tried to force extra words in here.
Tightly Packed (Compact, Compressed, Dense, Squashed). All four describe something crammed into a small space. The trap: dense and compact also feel science-y, so solvers kept eyeing the metals group. If a word felt like it could describe both a mineral and a suitcase, it slowed people down.
Hazardous Elemental Metals (Francium, Lead, Mercury, Polonium). Every one is a metal on the periodic table with real danger attached. Polonium is famous from a poisoning case, which is why plenty of players searched for the meaning of polonium mid-puzzle. The trap: lead and mercury have everyday non-metal meanings, so they looked like they belonged elsewhere.
Starting With Bird Homophones (Cranium, Croquette, Ductile, Hockey). This was the twist. Each word starts with a sound that matches a bird: crane in cranium, crow in croquette, duck in ductile, and hawk in hockey. This is the group that broke streaks, so we wrote a full explainer on words that start with bird homophones. The trap: dense wordplay hides in plain words, and both croquette and ductile looked like they wanted to join the food or science groups instead.
Tricky Words And Decoys
A few words did the heavy lifting on confusion today.
Dense. It fits packed tight, but it also whispers physics. That double read made it a classic decoy. The meaning of ductile plays the same game, since it sounds like a metal property but was actually a duck homophone.
Croquette. It looks like a food answer or a croquet reference, but it was really about the crow sound at the start. If you want the full breakdown, the croquette meaning guide covers it.
Mercury and Lead. Both live in the metals group here, but each has a life outside chemistry. Mercury is a planet and a car brand. Lead can mean guide or the front spot. Connections loves words with two lives.
How To Solve More Puzzles Like This
A few habits that help on wordplay days like this one.
- Say the words out loud. The bird group only clicks when you hear it.
- Do not lock in a group until you have four confident words.
- Watch for words with two meanings, like dense, lead, and mercury.
- Solve the boring group first. Computer peripherals was the safe start today.
- When a word feels obvious, ask if the puzzle is baiting you.
Want to keep the chain going? Compare notes with the June 24, 2026 Connections answers or jump ahead to the June 26, 2026 Connections hints.
FAQ
What was the hardest group in today’s Connections? The bird homophones group (Cranium, Croquette, Ductile, Hockey). It hid inside ordinary words, and our bird homophones explainer breaks down each sound.
Why is polonium in the metals group? Polonium is a radioactive metal and one of the most toxic substances known. The polonium meaning page explains why it counts as a hazardous elemental metal.
Is ductile a metal word? It describes metals that can stretch into wire, but today it was picked for its duck sound. See the ductile meaning guide for both readings.
Where can I find yesterday’s puzzle? Right here in the June 24, 2026 Connections guide, and tomorrow’s lives in the June 26, 2026 guide.
Is this an official NYT page? No. This is an independent FluentSlang guide that explains the puzzle in plain English.
Today’s Connections Explainers
These pages are built from the same puzzle, so they are the most relevant next reads.