The New York Times’ daily Connections puzzle challenges players to group words based on hidden themes. Today’s edition, number 898, presented a mix of straightforward and trickier categories. Below are hints and solutions to help you navigate the puzzle.
Understanding the Game
Connections consists of 16 words arranged in a 4×4 grid. The goal is to identify four groups of four words that share a common link. Categories range from obvious associations to more abstract concepts, with the puzzle difficulty increasing from yellow (easiest) to purple (hardest).
Today’s Hints
If you’re stuck, here are hints for each category, ranked by difficulty:
- Yellow: Think small in scale.
- Green: This color is the key.
- Blue: Relates to discomfort and relief.
- Purple: Focus on words with positive connotations.
Solutions Revealed
Here’s a breakdown of each category and its corresponding words:
- Yellow Group: The theme is small-time. The words are Mickey Mouse, rinky-dink, trivial, and two-bit.
- Green Group: The theme is things that are pink. The words are Barbie Dreamhouse, calamine lotion, cherry blossom, and flamingo.
- Blue Group: The theme is things you can scratch. The words are bug bite, lottery ticket, vinyl record, and your head.
- Purple Group: The theme is starting with optimistic words. The words are glad-hand, Happy Meal, merry-go-round, and sunny-side up.
Tracking Progress
The NYT now offers a Connections Bot, similar to Wordle’s tracking system. Registered users can analyze their performance, including puzzle completion rate, perfect scores, and win streaks.
Past Puzzles
Some past Connections puzzles have proven particularly challenging. Here are a few examples:
- #5: “Things you can set” (mood, record, table, volleyball)
- #4: “One in a dozen” (egg, juror, month, rose)
- #3: “Streets on screen” (Elm, Fear, Jump, Sesame)
- #2: “Power ___” (nap, plant, Ranger, trip)
- #1: “Things that can run” (candidate, faucet, mascara, nose)
Connections continues to test players’ pattern recognition skills with a unique blend of wordplay and logic. Solving the puzzle daily provides mental stimulation and a sense of accomplishment.
