Waking up and staring at sixteen words that seem to have absolutely nothing in common is a specific kind of morning torture. We've all been there. You see "Mussel" and "Muscle" and think, okay, homophones, but then the rest of the board is just a chaotic mess of bird species and types of upholstery. It's frustrating. Honestly, the New York Times Connections puzzle has become a bit of a cultural phenomenon because it taps into that weird part of the human brain that loves finding patterns where they don't exist—until they suddenly do. If you're looking for the NYT hints today Connections strategies that actually keep your streak alive, you have to stop looking at the words and start looking at the trap.
Wyna Liu, the associate puzzle editor at the NYT, is famously good at misdirection. She knows exactly how you think. If she puts "Bass" and "Flounder" on the board, she's betting you'll jump on the "Fish" category immediately. But then you realize "Bass" is also a type of singer and "Flounder" is something you do when you're failing a test. That's the game. It’s a psychological battle as much as a linguistic one.
The Art of the Near-Miss and Red Herrings
Most people fail Connections because they play too fast. They see four words that fit a category and click "Submit" within ten seconds. Big mistake. Huge. The game is designed with "crossover" words. These are words that could easily fit into two or even three different groups.
Take a look at a word like "Draft." Is it a current of air? A preliminary version of a book? A way to recruit athletes? Or maybe a type of beer? If you see "Draft," "Stout," and "Pilsner," you’re thinking beer. But if "Wind" is also on the board, "Draft" might belong there instead. You have to find the "orphans"—the words that only have one possible home—and build your groups around them.
Why the Purple Category is Usually a Linguistic Joke
The difficulty levels in Connections are color-coded: Yellow (Straightforward), Green (Mildly Challenging), Blue (Hard), and Purple (Tricky/Abstract).
The Purple category is usually the one that makes people throw their phones across the room. It often involves wordplay, like "Words that follow [Blank]" or "Words that are also [Something else] when you add a letter."
For example, a Purple category might be "Palindromes" or "Words that contain a color." You aren’t looking for what the words mean; you’re looking at how the words are built. If you see "Kayaking" and "Radar," your brain should immediately scream "palindromes!" even if the other words are "Level" and "Mom."
How to Systematicallly Dismantle the Board
Don't just stare at the screen. Use the "Shuffle" button. Seriously. Our brains get stuck in spatial patterns. If "Apple" and "Orange" are sitting next to each other, you will mentally link them forever. Shuffling breaks those visual anchors.
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- Scan for the obvious. If there are four types of trees and no other word on the board could possibly be a tree, lock it in. That's your Yellow.
- Look for synonyms.
- Look for "Fill-in-the-blank" clues. (e.g., [Blank] Cake: Carrot, Pound, Sponge, Wedding).
- Identify the "double agents." These are the words that belong in two spots. Save them for last.
Sometimes, the NYT hints today Connections users find most helpful are the ones that remind them to breathe. If you have one mistake left, stop playing. Close the app. Go get coffee. Come back in twenty minutes. Fresh eyes see things that tired eyes miss. It’s like magic, except it’s just neuroscience.
Real Examples of the "Liu Trap"
Last year, there was a board that featured "Pony," "Mullet," "Bob," and "Pageboy." Most people got that—hairstyles. Easy Green. But then there were words like "Sponge" and "Folder" and "Desktop." If you weren't careful, you’d try to link "File" and "Folder" and "Desktop" as computer terms, only to realize "File" was actually a tool used in a "Manicure" category.
This is the nuance of E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) in the world of puzzle solving. An expert knows that the most obvious answer is often a decoy. You have to be suspicious of the game.
The Evolution of the Daily Puzzle
Connections launched in beta in mid-2023 and exploded in popularity because it’s shorter than a crossword but deeper than Wordle. It requires a different kind of intelligence—lateral thinking. According to data from the NYT's own gameplay analytics, the "Purple" category is solved correctly by fewer than 40% of players without at least one mistake. That’s a high failure rate for a word game.
The game has also sparked a massive community on social media. People share their color grids like badges of honor (or shame). But behind the colorful squares is a very deliberate editorial process. Every puzzle is tested by a team to ensure there is only one possible solution, even if it feels like there are five.
Common Misconceptions About Connections
A lot of players think the categories are always based on definitions. They aren't. Sometimes the link is purely phonetic. Sometimes it's about the shape of the letters.
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- Misconception 1: The words must be the same part of speech. (False. A category can mix nouns and verbs, like "Things that run.")
- Misconception 2: If three words fit perfectly, the fourth one must be the one I'm missing. (Dangerous. Usually, the fourth word you're looking for belongs to a different category you haven't seen yet.)
- Misconception 3: The difficulty is always the same. (Some days the Yellow is harder than the Blue. It's subjective.)
Actionable Steps for Today's Puzzle
If you are currently staring at the board and feeling hopeless, try these specific tactics:
Say the words out loud. Sometimes hearing the word helps you catch a homophone or a compound word connection that your eyes missed. "Back" and "Log" look different, but "Backlog" is a common word.
Ignore the colors initially.
Pretend every word is the same level of difficulty. Don't hunt for the "easy" one first if the "hard" one is staring you in the face. If you see "Barium," "Curium," "Helium," and "Neon," you've found the elements. It doesn't matter if that's the Blue or the Green; just take the win.
Count your options.
If you find five words that fit a category (the "Five-Word Problem"), you cannot guess yet. You must figure out which of those five words belongs to a different group. Look at the remaining eleven words. Which of those five fits with them?
Think about prefixes and suffixes.
If the words seem totally unrelated (like "Box," "Fire," "Work," and "Fly"), try adding a word to them. In this case, "Out" (Outbox, Outfire—no), or "Fire" (Firebox, Firework, Firefly, Fire... wait). How about "Fly"? (Flybox, Flywork—no). Let's try "Light." Firelight, Lightbox, Lightwork, Lightfly? No. How about "Fire"? Firebox, Firefly, Firework, Firebrand. That’s a connection.
The NYT Connections puzzle isn't just about vocabulary; it’s about flexibility. The more rigid your thinking, the faster you’ll run out of chances.
Final Strategy for Your Daily Streak
To maintain a long-term winning streak, you need to develop a "pre-submission" checklist. Ask yourself:
- Are any of these words potential decoys?
- Does one of these words fit better in a category I haven't identified yet?
- Is there a wordplay element (like hidden numbers or anagrams) that I'm ignoring?
Once you can answer those with confidence, hit submit. If you're wrong, don't guess again immediately. The game is once-a-day for a reason. Take the time to actually analyze the board.
To get better, review the previous day's results. Look at the categories you missed. Was it a "Blank-Word" category? Or was it a group of "Slang for Money"? Understanding the types of categories Wyna Liu prefers—like 80s bands, kitchen utensils, or words that are also verbs for "complaining"—will make you a much sharper player tomorrow.
Move through the board with skepticism. The puzzle wants you to fail. Don't let it.
Next Steps for Success:
- Analyze the "Five-Word" clusters before clicking any tiles to avoid the most common trap in the game.
- Cross-reference today's words with common categories like "synonyms for 'small'" or "parts of a shoe" which reappear frequently in various forms.
- Save your last two guesses for when you are absolutely certain of at least one more group, rather than firing them off on "one away" hints.