Solving the daily Connections puzzle from The New York Times can be a challenging yet rewarding task. While some categories may be immediately clear, others often require deeper thinking. For those struggling with today’s puzzle, this guide provides useful hints and, if needed, the full answers.
Connections is a popular word puzzle published by The New York Times, similar in style to Wordle. The goal is to group 16 words into four categories, where each group of four words shares a common theme.
For example, a group might include "Hook", "Nana", "Peter", and "Wendy", all of which are Peter Pan characters. Another example could be "Action", "Ballpark", "Go", and "Stick", which are all words that commonly precede "Figure" in common phrases.
The challenge lies in identifying these connections while avoiding misleading word associations, or red herrings, designed to confuse players. The game is won by successfully grouping all four categories before making four mistakes. On the fourth incorrect attempt, the answers are automatically revealed.
Each of the four groups is assigned a colour to indicate difficulty:
Yellow (Easiest)
Green (Easy)
Blue (Medium)
Purple (Hardest)
If today's Connections puzzle is proving difficult, consider these hints:
Yellow: When one wants to hear the latest gossip, they ask someone to...
Green: These words can be found on a keyboard.
Blue: Think of music genres.
Purple: Consider a single word that can be placed after each of the words in this group.
1. Several words begin with ‘C’, but only in the Green and Purple groups.
2. The Purple group has a link to something sweet—perhaps a dessert.
For those who need an extra push, below is a word from each category:
Yellow: Spill
Green: Return
Blue: Alternative
Purple: Cup
If the hints were not enough, here are the themes that link the words together in today’s puzzle:
Yellow: Divulge
Green: Words on a Mac Keyboard
Blue: Words Shortened in Rock Genres
Purple: Words that Precede "Cake"
For those seeking the full solution, here are the four correct groups for today’s Connections puzzle:
Yellow – Divulge: Blab, Dish, Spill, Tell
Green – Words on a Mac Keyboard: Command, Control, Option, Return
Blue – Words Shortened in Rock Genres: Alternative, Emotional, Popular, Progressive
Purple – Words Preceding "Cake": Cheese, Cup, Pan, Short
Today’s puzzle featured a mix of straightforward and tricky connections. While the Green category was relatively easy for those familiar with Apple keyboards, the Purple group required players to think in terms of desserts. The Blue category was especially challenging, as it required recognising abbreviations in music genres.
Whether players solved it on their own or needed a bit of help, Connections remains an engaging way to challenge one's vocabulary and pattern recognition skills. Be sure to check back tomorrow for another round of Connections hints and answers.