Fungi and plants are different kingdoms in biology.
Graduated instruments measure quantities in science and school.
“E” words relate to digital or electronic forms.
If you’re a fan of Wordle, Spelling Bee, or The Mini, there’s a good chance you’ve already been pulled into Connections. This New York Times’ daily word game has quickly become a staple for puzzle lovers. It is filled to the brim with vibrant colors, tricky categories, and satisfying ‘aha!’ moments. Connections is designed to test not only your vocabulary but also your pattern recognition and lateral thinking skills.
Each day, a fresh puzzle is released at midnight, challenging players with 16 seemingly unrelated words that need to be sorted into four connected categories. Players get up to four wrong attempts before the game ends, so every guess counts.
Yellow = Easy
Green = Medium
Blue = Hard
Purple = Most Difficult
You can also shuffle the board to reset your perspective, often a helpful move when you’re stuck.
Yellow: The Circle of Life
Green: Study Hard
Blue: Prepared to Be Chilly
Purple: An Extraneous Letter
If you’re ready for the reveal, here’s how today’s tricky puzzle breaks down:
Yellow (Member of a Kingdom in Taxonomy): ANIMAL, BACTERIA, FUNGUS, PLANT
These are biological kingdoms, a mix of familiar and less obvious classifications. Remember, fungi are not plants!
Green (Graduated Instruments): BEAKER, RULER, PROTRACTOR, SYRINGE
These tools are used to measure quantities, whether in science labs or geometry classes.
Blue (Types of Penguins): EMPEROR, KING, CHINSTRAP, MACARONI
It’s penguin day. EMPEROR and KING may be familiar, but MACARONI and CHINSTRAP may surprise you unless you’re an animal enthusiast.
Purple (‘E’ Things): COMMERCE, MAIL, SCOOTER, SIGNATURE
Each of these goes electronic when you add an ‘e-’ prefix, e-commerce, email, e-scooter, e-signature. A tricky set that took some contemporary tech thinking.
Whether you zipped through today’s Connections or encountered a few bumps, it’s all worth it. Every puzzle presents a new challenge and a fresh way to work your brain. Return tomorrow for more insightful categories, wordplay pitfalls, and rewarding ‘aha!’ moments that make Connections one of the greatest daily brain exercises on the block.