

Today’s puzzle combines food terms, smartphone editing tools, and subtle word associations into one balanced Connections challenge.
The early groups feel approachable, but the purple category adds a clever twist involving jelly-themed phrases.
Players must carefully separate similar meanings and avoid misleading word overlaps to solve all four groups correctly
The May 13 edition of NYT Connections presents an engaging combination of logic, language, and cleverness. The challenge for today involves practical thinking across a wide range of themes, keeping the players alert from the beginning.
The surprise is in the combination of categories. Today, players will find sandwiches, explaining reasons, photo editors, and different types of jellies in the grid. This is a rare mix that brings both delight and confusion. It is a steady mid-tier challenge, neither too easy nor too hard, but very satisfactory once the connections are established.
Connections is the daily puzzle section of The New York Times, which is very popular amongst its readers. Each color indicates a different level of difficulty: yellow for the easiest and purple for the hardest.
Puzzlers must think outside the box, identifying connections that might include categories, word associations, or even prefixes and suffixes. A single incorrect assumption can change the entire puzzle's direction.
Let’s check out the words from today’s grid before progressing to the hints and answer section:
ARGUMENT, BASIS, CROP, FILTERS, MARKUP, BEAN, ROLL, GRINDER, HERO, GROUNDS, ADJUST, HOAGIE, SUB, CAUSE, BELLY, DONUT
Here are the clues for today’s NYT Connections puzzle. Let’s check out the hints:
Yellow Group: You think of these words when you’re hungry.
Green Group: These terms indicate reasons to take action.
Blue Group: People often use these to make their photos a bit beautiful.
Purple Group: Love eating jelly? These words you must have heard for sure.
Group One-Word Hint for Each Group
Still confused about the categories? Here are the one-word hints that you should check for better understanding:
Yellow: GRINDER
Green: BASIS
Blue: FILTERS
Purple: ROLL
If you have solved the puzzle, congratulations! However, if you’re still confused, here is the complete solution for the NYT Connection puzzle:
Yellow Group (LONG SANDWICH): GRINDER, HERO, HOAGIE, SUB
Blue Group (PRETEXT): ARGUMENT, BASIS, CAUSE, GROUNDS
Green Group (SMARTPHONE PHOTO EDITING OPTIONS): ADJUST, CROP, FILTERS, MARKUP
Purple Group (JELLY ___): BEAN, BELLY, DONUT, ROLL
The April 13 edition of NYT Connections offers a well-balanced mental workout. The combination of everyday words, activities, and subtle wordplay around ‘jelly’ showcases how simple words can hide layered logic.
What makes today’s grid particularly satisfying is its structure. The yellow and green group is still easy, but the purple one presents a twist. Ultimately, grids like this reinforce why Connections continues to attract thousands of players every day. It has turned puzzle sorting into a strategic exercise. Players struggle a bit, but once solved, they will walk away with a rewarding ‘wow’ moment.