In NYT Connections, 16 words are given, and players must find the four distinct categories that link them. The puzzles get harder every time, from mild yellow to daring purple.
Let’s understand the hints to solve the equation today.
Today's Theme: "DESIST"
Translate words meaning to cease or not to do
All of these words relate to the deliberative cessation or motion of an act
Other verbs in particular speak of control and cessation.
Hint: To force someone to stop doing something
Today's Theme: "UNITED FOR A CARD GAME"
What are the most common card games that one would play and that would require a deck of playing cards?
You can also think of historical and contemporary card-based games.
Also consider games that require simple plastic or paper cards.
Hint: These are all popular games which use the standard 52 playing cards as the main game equipment.
Today's Theme: “GOLDEN AGE OF GREEK DRAMA ELEMENTS”
What features or aspects are specific to the ancient Greek theater?
Thinking more of the ancient Greeks’ literary structure will lead to your answer here.
Think of various kinds of characters, events and structures
Hint: These are the basic elements and themes of Greek tragedies
Today's Theme: “SECOND WORDS OF ‘PETER PAN’ CHARACTERS”
The words listed in this category appear as the last part of names of Peter Pan characters.
And what are the family names or second names of these personages?
Fill in the foregoing information by referring to the characters of the famous author J.M. Barrie.
Hint: These are the second working vocabulary or monthly vocabulary lexical items in the form of first and second compound words in compound words.
Practice with hints from previous game puzzles. This will sharpen skills for the coming games.
For the Yellow category focusing on desist-related verbs, consider the approach from 10 April 2025. The "SHADES OF YELLOW" puzzle required identifying words for various yellow color variations. Similarly, today players must recognize different terms that express the same core concept of stopping.
The Green category featuring card games builds on the pattern recognition from 11 April 2025. The "PLACES USED IN RETAIL SUFFIXES" theme focused on location words commonly appearing at the end of store names. Today's puzzle similarly requires identifying items within a specific category (card games rather than location words).
For the Blue category about Greek drama elements, apply the literary knowledge approach from 9 April 2025. The "ANIMALS IN THE WITCHES' BREW IN 'MACBETH'" theme required finding creatures mentioned in Shakespeare's famous "double, double toil and trouble" scene. Both categories test familiarity with classical literary works and their components.
The Purple category tests your knowledge of character names from Peter Pan. This specific cultural reference parallels previous puzzles requiring specialized knowledge, though with a unique twist of identifying second words in character names.
For those who want the complete solutions to today's puzzle:
Yellow (Easiest): ABSTAIN, AVOID, CEASE, REFRAIN
Green (Medium): BRIDGE, HEARTS, SPEED, SPOONS
Blue (Challenging): CHORUS, HERO, HUBRIS, TRAGEDY
Purple (Hardest): BELL, DARLING, HOOK, PAN
Puzzle designer Wyna Liu developed Connections for the NY Times, part of the NYT Games family, in 2023. Today's Connections puzzle beautifully balances everyday vocabulary (desist verbs) with specialized knowledge domains (Greek drama, Peter Pan characters).