Rhythmic Moves & Cocktail Clues: Words like BOP and SWAY suggested dancing, while GIN and SHKEN raised a glass to martini-making.
Smoking Synonyms & Language Traps: PUFF and DRAG pointed to smoking, while BUZZ and CROSS teased solvers into compound word confusion.
A Deceptively Tricky Grid: What seemed like music or motion quickly unraveled into lexical layers, sensory verbs, and sly word-building.
The New York Times Connections puzzle is a delight with its witty linguistic classifications and layered significance. Sunday’s puzzle (#744) picked up on the weekend tradition of higher difficulty, featuring a grid that was designed to lead one astray, especially with overlapping sensory hints and colloquial references.
On initial observation, most of today’s words, buzz, bop, loan, groove, appeared lively and rhythmic, suggesting musical or social connotations. However, as the players progressed, the groups eventually disintegrated into a complex puzzle composed of movement, vices, and word building.
Easy, did you dance through or stick on purple? Here’s how today’s grid worked and the reasoning behind it.
Today’s Words
BUZZ, DRAG, GROOVE, TWIST, PASS, GIN, DRAW, LOON, BOP, PUFF, CROSS, SHAKEN, PULL, BOUNCE, DRY, SWAY
Yellow – Dance Moves: BOP, BOUNCE, GROOVE, SWAY
This group exudes rhythm. Every word brings to mind movement to music, styles, and forms commonly found on the dance floor or integrated into pop culture.
Blue Martini Specs: DRY, GIN, SHAKEN, TWIST
A nod to cocktail terminology, this set went for the sophistication of a James Bond cocktail order. Each word defines a component of a well-made martini, including an ingredient, preparation, or garnish.
Green – Smoking Actions: DRAG, DRAW, PUFF, PULL
Connected through inhalation, this set clusters verbs traditionally connected with smoking, tobacco, cigars, or joints. Sensory and sequential, these terms evoke a slow burn.
Purple – ‘____word’ Compound Starters: BUZZ, CROSS, LOAN, PASS
This seemingly difficult group required solvers to think lexically. Each word is a prefix in a compound word: buzzword, crossword, loanword, password. The group played a game of familiarity tag while hiding in plain sight.
Sunday’s NYT Connections grid was a masterclass in disguise. From the dynamic freedom of dance words to cultural allusions in cocktail phrases and smoking verbs, the puzzle emerged with intuitive sense, only to restrain its most difficult twist on the ‘____word’ set. Words such as "buzz" or "loan" first deceive by appearing rhythm-related or transactional, requiring a sideways leap of reasoning to reveal the set’s true meaning.
The puzzle excelled at using everyday language and quietly recontextualizing it. It was a reminder that Connections is at its best when the mundane becomes complex, and the familiar takes on a surprising shape.
Whatever you did or didn’t get, Sunday’s game was a reminder of how mischievous and exacting the English language can be.
Until tomorrow, happy connecting!