NYT Connections May 3, 2025 #692 Hints & Answers

The evolution of positive slang terms like these often follows a pattern where words with negative connotations become repurposed as positive descriptors. 'Sick' originally meant ill or unwell before becoming popular positive slang in the 1980s skateboarding and surfing communities. Similarly, 'dope' had negative associations with drugs before becoming a positive descriptor in hip-hop culture of the 1990s.

The term 'CREAM' as slang for defeating someone decisively is thought to have originated from the phrase 'cream rises to the top,' suggesting superior performance. It gained popularity in sports contexts during the mid-20th century. The acronym C.R.E.A.M. ('Cash Rules Everything Around Me') was later popularized by Wu-Tang Clan in their 1993 song, giving the word additional cultural significance in hip-hop.

English contractions have been used in speech for centuries, but they were often considered too informal for proper writing until relatively recently. In Shakespeare's works (early 17th century), contractions appear frequently to reflect natural speech patterns, but Victorian-era formal writing (19th century) often avoided them entirely. The contraction 'I'll' is among the oldest in English, appearing in written records as early as the 13th century.

The original top-level domains (TLDs) established in 1985 included only seven extensions: .com, .edu, .gov, .int, .mil, .net, and .org. The .com domain, now by far the most popular with over 170 million registrations worldwide, was initially designated strictly for commercial entities. Today, there are more than 1,500 TLDs available, including country-specific codes and brand-specific domains, dramatically expanding the internet's naming ecosystem.