.png){kind=logo}
Balanced Difficulty: The main theme here is easy words with hard wordplay to keep this puzzle approachable yet challenging at the same time.
Clear Groupings: Resilience and construction offer early elucidations to the players.
Playful Misdirection: Words such as shellac and crepe test both cultural and alternative meanings.
Everyday Fun: NYT Connections combines logic, slang, and culture in just enough amounts to make it fun to do daily.
Sunday's NYT Connections always brings with it a crisp challenge of clean categories and satisfying revelations. The twist goes around words related to proximity language, public signage, classic mail essentials, and constitutionalities. Difficulty was moderate; there were very clear paths, but a few words tempted erroneous pairings, which was a good distraction.
NYT Connections presents a grid of sixteen words. The task is to sort them into four groups of four based on a shared theme. Only one solution exists. Groups are color-coded by difficulty. Yellow is easiest. Green and Blue are moderate. Purple is the trickiest and often leans on wordplay. Correct sets disappear. Four mistakes and the game ends.
HANDY
CLOSE
PUSH
NEARBY
PETITION
ENVELOPE
NAME
WELCOME
ACCESSIBLE
OPEN
EXIT
ADDRESS
PRESS
SPEECH
STAMP
ASSEMBLY
Yellow Group Hint
Think convenience and proximity. Each word means near or easy to reach.
One word clue: NEARBY
Green Group Hint
Think about everyday signage found on doors and thresholds.
One word clue: OPEN
Blue Group Hint
Think about the basics required to send physical mail successfully.
One word clue: ENVELOPE
Purple Group Hint
Think civil liberties are protected in a foundational amendment.
One word clue: SPEECH
Yellow Group - Conveniently Located
ACCESSIBLE, CLOSE, HANDY, NEARBY
Green Group - Words on a Door
EXIT, OPEN, PUSH, WELCOME
Blue Group - Needs for Sending a Letter
ADDRESS, ENVELOPE, NAME, STAMP
Purple Group - First Amendment Freedoms
ASSEMBLY, PETITION, PRESS, SPEECH
The yellow set falls quickly for most solvers. The quartet shares a proximity or convenience idea, which makes it a stable first click. The green set also feels approachable. Door words show up in daily life, and the quartet snaps together once EXIT and OPEN anchor the group.
The blue set hides light misdirection. ADDRESS and NAME look interchangeable in common speech, yet both belong here because each sits on the outside of an envelope. STAMP confirms the postal context. ENVELOPE then completes the set with literal clarity. The purple set turns more conceptual. The four freedoms form a well-known civics link, so recognition comes fast for some and slower for others.
Several overlapping lures appear. "WELCOME" and "ACCESSIBLE" both gesture toward ease, but only one belongs on a door sign. PRESS and PUSH look like a trap pair because "press" means "push," but PRESS here belongs with First Amendment rights, while PUSH fits the signage theme. That crosscurrent explains many early mistakes.
NYT Connections today balances concrete categories with clean thematic edges. Misdirection is fair rather than sneaky. The main challenges involve distinguishing signage from convenience terms and separating postal details from general identity words. Pattern spotting and confirming, then committing to reliable strategies.
The NYT Connections hints today correspond neatly to the colored sets for quick reference by readers, while the NYT Connections answers serve as the above solution. NYT Connections hence offers a reward for flexible thinking and clean logic.
The best strategy begins with the obvious set, then goes on with the next clearest set, and finally returns to ambiguous pairs with a fresh angle. In contrast to recent grids, today's puzzle feels accessible yet engaging through all stages.
A brief recap will allow those new to the NYT connections to find today through searches. Include the list of 16 words, the color-coded hints, and a brief explanation of gameplay. Do not spoil anything above the fold.
The NYT Connections answers should go below a clear divider to not tarnish the developers' efforts. Consistent formatting builds reader trust and helps provide clarity and ease of access to past fans of the puzzle online.
