The first of the two Weekend Connections puzzles is not also Tough. As usual, the NYT has thrown in a few red herrings, and the purple cluster is always tricky, but there's nothing out of the ordinary here.
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 #391): Words of the Day
Today’s NYT Connections words are…
- MOUNTAIN RANGE
- DOG
- JUG
- BOTTLE
- PHONE
- FREEZE
- CELL
- Spoons
- MOBILE
- PROTEIN
- RATTLE
- ATOM
- WASHBOARD
- PRICE
- MOLECULE
- CRADLE
Today's NYT Connections (Set #391): Clue #1: Group Clues
What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?
- Yellow: They invent everything
- Green: Preparing the nursery
- Blue: You won't find this in an orchestra.
- Purple: White [something that attaches]
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 #391): Clue #2: Group Answers
What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: BIOLOGICAL BUILDING BLOCKS
- GREEN: SHOPPING FOR A BABY
- BLUE: OBJECTS PLAYED AS INSTRUMENTS
- PURPLE: ___ LABEL
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 #391): The Answers
The answers to today's Connections game, number 391, are…
- YELLOW: BIOLOGICAL BUILDING BLOCKS ATOM, CELL, MOLECULE, PROTEIN
- GREEN: SHOPPING FOR A BABY BOTTLE, CRIB, MOBILE, RATTLE
- BLUE: OBJECTS PLAYED AS INSTRUMENTS JUG, SAW, SPOONS, WASHBOARD
- PURPLE: ___ LABEL DOG, FROZEN, PHONE, PRICE
- My rating: Easy
- My score: 1 error
I have a question: what is a FREEZE TAG? Actually, I have a second question: what is a PHONE TAG? Is that a reference to Apple's AirTags? I'm baffled.
But hey, that doesn't matter because they were part of the purple group, and when I got to that one I had already solved the other three. Plus ca change.
Yellow was particularly easy today, with games like ATOM and MOLECULE standing out immediately. I solved blue next, although I made a mistake, playing BOTTLE instead of JAR as OBJECT TO BE PLAYED AS AN INSTRUMENT. Technically, I wasn't wrong – you can play with a bottle, after all. But it wasn't right on this occasion. CRIB, MOBILE, BOTTLE, RATTLE for “baby shopping” was also pretty straightforward, meaning the purple group and those puzzling labels were solved by default.
How did your day go? Send me an email and let me know.
Yesterday's NYT Connections Answers (Friday, July 5, Match #390)
- YELLOW: LONGING WISH, LONG, PINE, YEN
- GREEN: MAGAZINES FORTUNE, MADNESS, NATURE, OR
- BLUE: CHARACTERS IN BOND FILMS BOND, M, MONEY, PENNY, Q
- PURPLE: WORDS THAT PRECEDE “POP” IN MUSICAL GENRES BUBBLE, EURO, K, POWER
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.
