NYT Connections Hints and Answers for June 21: Today’s Puzzle Clues to Keep Your Streak Alive

The New York Times’ daily brain-teaser Connections has dropped puzzle #741 for Saturday, June 21 2025, and today’s grid is trickier than most. If you’re juggling sixteen seemingly unrelated words and running out of guesses, use the deep-dive hints, category breakdowns and solving strategies below to secure your win—and maybe keep your flawless streak alive. Why today’s Connections is stealing the spotlight Connections consistently ranks as the second-most-played NYT game after Wordle, but weekend editions often see a spike in search interest. June 21 brings a puzzle packed with clever wordplay: at first glance it looks like a cocktail menu, yet the actual groupings pivot in surprising directions, catching many players off guard. Quick refresher: how Connections works • You’re shown 16 words. • Your goal is to sort them into four groups of four that share a hidden theme. • You get only four mistakes before the game ends, and each solved group reveals its color-coded difficulty (Yellow = easiest, then Green, Blue, and finally Purple for the trickiest category). Spoiler-free starter hints (keep scrolling for full answers) Yellow clue: Think of adjectives you’d use to describe a brick wall or a lineman. Green clue: Synonyms for a legally registered business. Blue clue: Products you can make from apples. Purple clue: Nicknames or abbreviations that appear at the start of certain European countries. Need a stronger nudge? Try these near-spoiler pushes • Two of the four “apple” words can also describe alcoholic drinks but aren’t confined to beverages. • The business group hides a term that Brits use more often than Americans. • If “Lux” is puzzling you, imagine the full name of a tiny, land-locked grand duchy. Full category reveals (answers underneath the fold) 1. Stocky adjectives 2. Business entities 3. Apple-based items 4. European country starters Complete solution for June 21 (puzzle #741) Yellow – STOCKY: Solid, Squat, Stout, Thick Green – COMPANY: Concern, Firm, House, Outfit Blue – APPLE PRODUCTS: Brandy, Butter, Cider, Sauce Purple – STARTS OF EUROPEAN COUNTRIES: Germ- (Germany), Luxe- (Luxembourg), Malt- (Malta), Port- (Portugal) Strategy guide for tougher weeks 1. Scan for clear sibling words (e.g., Solid/Squat). Group them mentally but don’t lock them in until you’re 90% sure—duplicate uses can mislead. 2. Watch out for homonyms and word stems; today’s “Port” doubles as a drink and a geographic label. 3. Color logic matters: if you accidentally assemble a very easy set and the game flashes Purple, you know you’re off target. 4. Keep a notepad nearby. Sketching provisional sets reduces blind spots and prevents wasted guesses. What makes today’s grid notable The Apple-centric Blue group subverts expectations by mixing edible items (Butter, Sauce) with sippable ones (Brandy, Cider). Meanwhile, the European starter set highlights how short prefixes can point to entire nations—an elegant linguistic twist that veteran solvers will appreciate. Before you tackle tomorrow’s puzzle, bookmark this page or set a reminder—daily hint roundups go live every midnight EDT so you can stay one step ahead of the curve. Good luck maintaining that streak, and happy connecting!