Look, we've all been there. It's 8:00 AM, you're on your second cup of coffee, and you're staring at sixteen words that seem to have absolutely nothing in common. You find three words that fit perfectly, but that fourth one? Nowhere to be found. Wyna Liu, the editor of the New York Times Connections puzzle, is notoriously good at this. She knows exactly how to bait you into a "red herring" trap. If you're looking for Wordle Connections hints today—and yes, everyone calls it that even though it’s technically just "Connections"—you aren't alone.
The game is simple on the surface but devious in practice. You have sixteen words. You need to sort them into four groups of four. Each group has a theme. Each theme has a color: Yellow (the easiest), Green, Blue, and Purple (the most abstract or wordplay-heavy).
The problem is the crossover. The NYT team loves putting five or six words that could belong to one category, forcing you to figure out which two are actually meant for something else. It's a game of elimination as much as it is a game of definitions. Honestly, some days are just harder than others.
How to Think Like a Connections Pro
Most people start by clicking the first four related words they see. Don't do that. That is exactly how you lose your four lives before you've even cleared the Yellow group. Instead, you've got to scan the whole board for outliers.
Look for the "weird" words first. If you see a word like "EYE" or "BALL," it could mean a million things. But if you see a word like "NIGHTCAP," it's much more specific. Use the specific words to anchor your guesses.
Why the "Wordle Connections" Name Stuck
It's funny how we've branded everything under the "Wordle" umbrella. Technically, Connections is its own beast, launched in mid-2023 after the massive success of Josh Wardle’s original masterpiece. But because they live in the same app and share that daily ritualistic DNA, "Wordle Connections hints today" has become the shorthand for everyone searching for a lifeline. It’s part of the morning "New York Times Games" suite that has basically replaced the morning newspaper for an entire generation.
Breaking Down Today’s Potential Pitfalls
When you're looking at the grid today, pay attention to the parts of speech. Sometimes the game uses four verbs, but one of them is actually meant to be a noun in a different category. For instance, "SQUASH" could be a sport (noun) or it could be an action (verb) like "CRUSH" or "PRESS."
If you see words that seem to relate to a specific industry—say, theater or cooking—double-check that one of those words doesn't have a double meaning. Purple categories often involve:
- Words that follow a specific prefix (like "Super____")
- Words that are homophones (like "HEW" and "HUE")
- Words that form a compound word with a missing element
If you’re stuck on the final eight words, stop guessing. Take a screenshot. Walk away. Your brain needs to reset its pattern recognition software.
The Philosophy of the "Purple" Category
The Purple category is usually the one that makes people throw their phones. It isn't always about what the words mean. Sometimes it’s about what the words are.
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Think about the "Words that start with body parts" category or "Palindromes." You aren't looking for synonyms here; you're looking for a linguistic trick. If you find yourself with four words that have absolutely no logical connection in the dictionary, they are almost certainly your Purple group.
Real Strategies for Today’s Puzzle
If you want to solve the puzzle without just looking up the answers, try the "Shuffle" button. It sounds stupid, but your brain gets locked into the spatial positioning of the words. By shuffling, you break those false visual links.
Another tip: read the words out loud. Sometimes hearing the word "BOOK" helps you realize it sounds like "BROOK" or connects to "MARK" in a way you didn't see when just reading it.
Avoiding the Red Herrings
A red herring is a word that looks like it belongs in two places. For example, if the category is "Types of Fruit" and you see "APPLE," "ORANGE," "CHERRY," and "KIWI," you might think you're safe. But what if there's also "LAPTOP" and "PHONE"? Now "APPLE" might belong in a "Tech Companies" category.
Always look for the fifth word. If you find five words that fit a theme, that theme is a trap. You have to find the secondary theme that "steals" one of those words away.
Actionable Steps for Your Daily Solve
To get better at Connections and stop burning through your turns, follow this workflow every morning:
- Scan for the "Must-Fits": Find the most unique word on the board. What is the only possible thing "QUARTZ" could relate to?
- The "Rule of Five": If you see five words for one category, put that category aside. Solve a different one first to see which of those five gets used up.
- Check for Wordplay: Before committing to a "synonym" group, check if those words could also be "Words that end in a type of bird" or something equally devious.
- The Final Four: Remember that the last four words will automatically group together. If you've solved three, you've solved them all. Don't stress the last one; just click them.
- Track Your Stats: The NYT app tracks your win streaks now. If you're on a 20-day streak, the pressure is higher, so take an extra five minutes before that final click.
Solving the Connections puzzle is about patience. It's a test of your vocabulary, sure, but it's mostly a test of your ability to see past the obvious. The more you play, the more you'll start to recognize Wyna Liu's specific brand of trickery. You'll start seeing the traps before you fall into them.
Once you've finished today's grid, take a second to look at the category names. Sometimes the names themselves are puns. It's that little bit of extra flair that makes the game more than just a crossword clone. Good luck with the grid—hopefully, you won't need that fourth life today.