The week begins with a simple connection puzzle that doesn't involve too many dangers. That doesn't make it easy, though, because the NYT's word game is devilishly difficult even on a good day. Read on for some clues.
What should you do once you're done? Play more word games, of course. I also have articles with daily Wordle hints and answers, Strands hints and answers, and Quordle hints and answers if you need help with those topics as well.
SPOILER WARNING: Below you'll find information about today's NYT Connections, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
NYT Connections Today (Set #393): Words of the Day
Today’s NYT Connections words are…
- CANINE
- TRICK
- SPIRIT
- OZONE
- OFTEN
- POINTER
- WILLPOWER
- VISIT
- FREQUENT
- SOLVE
- DEN
- ADVICE
- SAND
- SUGGESTION
- TRANSPORT
- SPONSOR
Today's NYT Connections (Set #393): Clue #1: Group Clues
What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?
- Yellow: Try this
- Green: Hold on
- Blue: Be here now
- Purple: Hidden figures
Need more clues?
We're now in spoiler territory, but read on if you want to know what the four themed answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…
Today's NYT Connections (Game #393): Clue #2: Group Answers
What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: A TIP
- GREEN: STRENGTH
- BLUE: SPEND TIME IN
- PURPLE: WORDS THAT END IN NUMBERS
Well, the answers are below, so DON'T CONTINUE FOLLOWING THE PAGE IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
Today's NYT Connections (Set #393): The Answers
The answers to today's Connections game, number 393, are…
- YELLOW: A TIP POINTER, TIP, ADVICE, TRICK
- GREEN: STRENGTH COURAGE, RESOLUTION, SPIRIT, WILL
- BLUE: SPEND TIME IN FREQUENT, ROUND, SPONSOR, VISIT
- PURPLE: WORDS THAT END IN NUMBERS CANINE, LOAD, OFTEN, OZONE
- My rating: Easy
- My score: Perfect
The key to connections is to think of words in multiple ways. By this I mean that they can be joined together to form a group of related things, or they can all be synonyms for another word, or they can be homophones, or they can all have a letter in common that comes before or after them. There's also another kind that sometimes comes up: words hidden inside them.
It’s important to always keep this in mind when solving problems, because looking for obvious groups rarely works. Today, for example, the green group, which was the first one I solved, stood for strength. Yellow was similar: “tips” and four words that meant that. Blue was also on that line: “Spend time in.” But purple was a different matter. That was one of the hidden word varieties; in this case, each of the four words contained a number—for example, OZONE has ONE inside it, CANINE has NINE. Clever, huh? I would never have made that connection if I hadn’t thought more laterally today, so it’s the approach I’ll always try to take.
How did your day go? Send me an email and let me know.
Yesterday's NYT Connections Answers (Sunday, July 7, Match #392)
- YELLOW: CHANGES IN STATES OF MATTER CONDENSATE, FREEZE, MELT, VAPORIZE
- GREEN: REPLACEMENT ALTERNATIVE, BACKUP, COVERAGE, SUB
- BLUE: NAMES IN LANGUAGE FOR PROFESSIONS COPPER, HACK, SHRINK, SUIT
- PURPLE: MARIAH CAREY'S NUMBER ONE HITS FANTASY, HERO, LOVE, SOMEDAY
What is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections is one of the increasingly popular word games created by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that have something in common, and each group has a different level of difficulty: green is easy, yellow is a little harder, blue is usually quite difficult, and purple is usually very difficult.
The plus side is that you don't technically need to solve the last one, as you'll be able to answer it by process of elimination. Plus, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a bit of wiggle room.
However, it is a bit more complex than something like Wordle and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trick you with tricks. For example, beware of homophones and other wordplay that could disguise the answers.
It can be played for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile devices.
