NYT Connections Answer & Hints for August 20, 2025 — Puzzle #801

Stuck on this Connections? Below you’ll get an intro, as many definitions as possible, hints, category titles, one sample word per category, and the full solution.

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About Today’s Connections Puzzle

Puzzle #801 (published August 20, 2025) gives 16 items that include tools, objects, and symbols. Some of the groups are more visual, others based on word-shape or function.

Definitions of the 16 Words

Alphabetical to avoid hinting at groups:

Word	Short definition
BARBER POLE	A pole with spiraled stripes, typically red and white, outside barber shops.
CANDY CANE	A cane-shaped stick of hard candy, often red and white.
CAROUSEL	A rotating amusement ride with seats, often in animal shapes.
CEILING FAN	A fan mounted on a ceiling, used to circulate air.
CHOPSTICKS	A pair of thin sticks used as eating utensils in East Asia.
CLAVES	A pair of wooden sticks struck together to make rhythm in music.
CROCHET HOOK	A hooked tool used in crocheting to pull thread loops through stitches.
CROOK	A curved or hooked tool; also a dishonest person.
DOMINO	A rectangular game tile marked with spots, used in matching games.
KNITTING NEEDLES	Long thin tools used to knit yarn into fabric.
LAZY SUSAN	A rotating tray placed on a table for easier access to items.
PIANO KEYS	The levers pressed to produce tones on a piano.
SKI POLES	Long sticks used by skiers to help balance and push.
YIN-YANG SYMBOL	A symbol representing the concept of dualism, in Chinese philosophy.
ZEBRA	A black-and-white striped African equine mammal.
CROWBAR	A metal lever tool used for prying things open.

General Hints

One category is “black-and-white things.”
One is pairs of rods or sticks.
One involves items that rotate around a vertical axis.
One connects to rods that curve at one end.

Category Titles

🟨 BLACK-AND-WHITE THINGS
🟩 PAIRS OF RODS
🟦 THINGS THAT ROTATE ABOUT A VERTICAL AXIS
🟪 RODS THAT CURVE AT ONE END

One Word From Each Category

🟨 ZEBRA
🟩 Ski Poles
🟦 Ceiling Fan
🟪 Candy Cane

Full Solution

NYT Connections #801 — Full Groups

🟨 BLACK-AND-WHITE THINGS → DOMINO, PIANO KEYS, YIN-YANG SYMBOL, ZEBRA
🟩 PAIRS OF RODS → CHOPSTICKS, CLAVES, KNITTING NEEDLES, SKI POLES
🟦 THINGS THAT ROTATE ABOUT A VERTICAL AXIS → BARBER POLE, CAROUSEL, CEILING FAN, LAZY SUSAN
🟪 RODS THAT CURVE AT ONE END → CANDY CANE, CROCHET HOOK, CROOK, CROWBAR

That “rotate about a vertical axis” set tends to fool people until they spot Lazy Susan!

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