Looking for the answers to the May 25 New York Times Connections puzzle? To me, Wordle is more of a vocabulary test and Connections is more of a brainteaser. You're given 16 words and asked to put them into four groups that are somehow connected. Sometimes they're obvious, but the game editor knows how to trick you by using words that can fit in more than one group. 

And do you also play Wordle? We've got today's Wordle answer and hints too.

We've also got some tips for Strands, a new game from the Times that's still in beta.

How to play Connections

Playing is easy. Winning is hard. Look at the 16 words and mentally assign them to related groups of four. Click on the four words you think go together. The groups are coded by color, though you don't know what goes where until you see the answers. The yellow group is the easiest, then green, then blue, and purple is the toughest. Look at the words carefully, and think about related terms. Sometimes the connection has to do with just a part of the word. Once, four words were grouped because each started with the name of a rock band, including "Rushmore" and "Journeyman."

Hints for today's Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today's Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest, yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Madison Avenue.

Green group hint: Earliest

Blue group hint: Make a case for.

Purple group hint: The part of speech from Schoolhouse Rock's Rufus Xavier Sarsparilla song, plus one letter.

Answers for today's Connections groups

Yellow group: Advertising format.

Green group: Inaugural.

Blue group: Advocate for.

Purple group: Pronoun plus E.

What are today's Connections answers?

The yellow words in today's Connections

The theme is advertising format. The four words are banner, billboard, poster and sign.

The green words in today's Connections

The theme is inaugural. The four words are first, initial, maiden and premier.

The blue words in today's Connections

The theme is advocate for. The four words are back, champion, endorse and support.

The purple words in today's Connections

The theme is pronoun plus E. The four words are here, theme, use and wee.