NYT Strands (“Taking the bait”) & Connections (Foot Homophones)

Solving the NYT Strands and Connections Puzzles: May 19, 2025

May 19, 2025, was a day when The New York Times’ daily word games presented interesting puzzles to solve. Let us see the highlights of the best of that day’s Strands and Connections puzzles.
The Times of India
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Tom’s Guide
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???? NYT Strands: “Taking the Bait”
The May 19 Strands puzzle, the “Taking the Bait” puzzle, had the theme of fish and fishing terminologies. The Spangram, the picture clue of the puzzle, cunningly formed the word “SOMETHINGSFISHY,” a implicit clue to the aquatic theme.
Wikipedia
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Tom’s Guide
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The Times of India
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Key Answers:

MACKEREL

HALIBUT

TROUT

SALMON

SNAPPER

These answers are all types of fish, with the theme of the puzzle. How these words were placed in the puzzle grid visually represented a fish as well, contributing to the thematic experience.
Tom’s Guide

???? NYT Connections: “Foot Homophones”
Same-day Connections puzzle, Puzzle #708, featured a challenging category: “Foot Homophones.” Solvers needed to discover words that are homophones (words that have the same sound) of human foot structures.
Tom’s Guide

Category: Foot Homophones

Soul (sounds like “sole”)

Tow (sounds like “toe”)

Heal (sounds like “heel”)

Bawl (sounds like “ball”)

These homophones are various parts of the foot, which increases the complexity of the puzzle. The puzzle was assigned a moderate degree of difficulty of 3 out of 5, which means the challenge was equilibrated for solvers.
Tom’s Guide

Both the puzzles reflect the commitment of the New York Times to fun and intellectual word puzzles. Both the puzzles test vocabulary and knowledge, lateral thinking and critical thinking. As a regular solver or a beginner, both the puzzles provide a delightful and intellectual experience.
The Times of India