Today’s NYT Connections Hints & Answers
Stuck on today’s NYT Connections puzzle? We’ve got spoiler-free hints for all four color groups — yellow, green, blue, and purple. Reveal only what you need, one group at a time.
If you’d rather skip ahead, the full answers are below. Updated daily at midnight ET.
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Today’s Connections Hints
One hint per group. Start with yellow — it’s usually the easiest.
What’s the theme connecting the yellow group?
👁 Reveal Yellow Hint
Think about words that describe something fancy or high-end. These words all suggest a certain level of elegance or sophistication.
What’s the theme connecting the green group?
👁 Reveal Green Hint
These words relate to the inner workings of a timepiece. Think about the components you’d find inside an old-fashioned mechanical clock.
What’s the theme connecting the blue group?
👁 Reveal Blue Hint
Look for people who share a common first name. These are all well-known public figures.
What’s the theme connecting the purple group?
👁 Reveal Purple Hint
This one’s tricky. The connection isn’t about what the words mean — it’s about what’s hidden inside them. Look at the structure of each word itself, not its definition.
Today’s Connections Answers
Spoiler alert — the full solution is below.
🟡 Show Yellow Group Answer
LUXE
BOUGIE, CLASSY, FANCY, POSH, SWANK
🟢 Show Green Group Answer
PARTS OF A MECHANICAL CLOCK
ESCAPEMENT, PENDULUM, RATCHET, SPRING
🔵 Show Blue Group Answer
FAMOUS DANS
AYKROYD, LEVY, RATHER, SAVAGE
🟣 Show Purple Group Answer
TAXONOMIC RANKS PLUS A LETTER
BORDER, FOAMILY, GENIUS, RATCHET
How to Play NYT Connections
New to the game? Here’s how it works.
NYT Connections is a daily word puzzle from The New York Times, created by associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu. It launched on June 12, 2023, and has quickly become one of the most popular word games on the internet — right alongside Wordle.
Every day, you get a 4×4 grid of 16 words. Your job is to sort them into four groups of four, where each group shares a hidden connection. You get four mistakes before the game ends. That’s it — simple rules, but the puzzles can be surprisingly tricky.
What Do the Colors Mean?
Yellow — The most straightforward group. Usually a clear category.
Green — Slightly trickier. The connection might be less obvious.
Blue — Getting tough. Often involves wordplay or pop culture.
Purple — The hardest group. Often involves hidden patterns or structural tricks.
Connections Strategy Tips
Tips from players who solve Connections daily without mistakes.
1. Start with the Yellow Group
Yellow is designed to be the easiest. Look for the most obvious connection first. Locking in yellow early clears four words off the board and makes everything else easier to see.
2. Watch for Trap Words
Wyna Liu and her team deliberately include words that look like they belong together but don’t. A word like “SPRING” could be a season, a water source, or a mechanical part. If a word seems to fit in two groups, leave it for last.
3. Pay Attention to “One Away”
When the game says “one away,” three of your four selected words belong together — but one doesn’t. Look at which word might be the odd one out and swap it.
4. Save Purple for Last
Purple groups frequently involve wordplay or structural tricks. Solve yellow, green, and blue first, and purple will reveal itself.
5. Think Beyond Definitions
Not every group is about what words mean. Some are about what words sound like, what they contain, or what they become when modified.
6. Use the Shuffle Button
When no patterns are jumping out, hit shuffle. Rearranging the tiles can break your mental fixation and help you see fresh connections.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections is a daily word puzzle game published by The New York Times. Each puzzle gives you 16 words that you need to sort into four groups of four, where each group shares a hidden connection. The game was created by associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu and launched on June 12, 2023. A new puzzle drops every day at midnight Eastern Time.
When does the Connections puzzle reset?
NYT Connections resets every day at midnight Eastern Time (ET). If you’re in a different time zone, the puzzle changes at whatever midnight ET is in your local time.
How many guesses do you get in Connections?
You get four incorrect guesses before the game ends. Correct guesses don’t count as mistakes.
What does “one away” mean in Connections?
“One away” means three of your four words belong to the same group, but the fourth doesn’t. Swap the odd one out for a different word from the remaining tiles.
Is NYT Connections free to play?
Yes. You can play Connections for free on The New York Times website or through the NYT Games app. A Games subscription gives you access to the full archive of past puzzles.
Why is the purple group so hard?
Purple is intentionally the hardest group. It frequently involves wordplay, structural patterns, or misdirection — like words containing hidden animal names, or words that change when you add or remove a letter.
Who created NYT Connections?
Connections was created by Wyna Liu, an associate puzzle editor at The New York Times. It was inspired by the British game show “Only Connect” and launched publicly on June 12, 2023.
What’s the difference between Connections and Wordle?
Both are daily word puzzles from the NYT. In Wordle, you guess a single 5-letter word in six tries. In Connections, you sort 16 words into four themed groups. Wordle tests vocabulary; Connections tests categorization and lateral thinking. Many players do both every morning.
More NYT Game Hints
About This Page
This page is updated daily with fresh hints and answers for the NYT Connections puzzle. We are independent and not affiliated with The New York Times Company. Official Connections is available at nytimes.com/games/connections.