Connections can be a tricky game, where you can only make four mistakes or suffer the indignity of failure. If you find yourself on the brink of disaster, you may want to read on for my advice, which I hope you find helpful.
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 #402): Words of the Day
Today’s NYT Connections words are…
- PACK
- CAR
- CHECK
- BASKET CASE
- BANK
- WASHED
- SCHOOL
- LAUNDRY
- STAY
- PRIDE
- CURB
- NOTHING
- POST OFFICE
- INHIBIT
- SUPERMARKET
- SWARM
Today's NYT Connections (Set #402): Clue #1: Group Clues
What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?
- Yellow: Main Street Heroes
- Green: For
- Blue: Lots of bugs
- Purple: President of the Soviet Union
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 #402): Clue #2: Group Responses
What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: BUILDINGS AROUND THE CITY
- GREEN: HINDER
- BLUE: NAMES OF GROUPS OF ANIMALS
- PURPLE: BEGINNINGS OF US PRESIDENTS
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 #402): The Answers
The answers to today's Connections game, number 402, are…
- YELLOW: BUILDINGS AROUND THE CITY BANK, LAUNDRY, POST OFFICE, SUPERMARKET
- GREEN: HINDER CONTROL, STOP, HINDER, INHIBIT
- BLUE: NAMES OF GROUPS OF ANIMALS PACK, PRIDE, SCHOOL, SWARM
- PURPLE: BEGINNINGS OF US PRESIDENTS BIDET, CAR, NIX, WASH
- My rating: Moderate
- My score: 2 mistakes
A classic NYT mistake was made here, and it took me a couple of tries. The first group I focused on turned out to be the green “Hinder” group; it had NIX, CURB, HAMPER, and INHIBIT. When that didn't work, I changed HAMPER to CHECK… and it still didn't work.
At that point, I looked elsewhere, rather than risk further guesswork, and located the easy yellow group BANK, LAUNDRY, POST OFFICE, SUPERMARKET. I then found the “Animal Groups” connection, which although it was blue (and supposedly the third most difficult), didn't seem particularly difficult to me.
That left eight answers, five of which still fit the “Hinder” angle. But rather than risk making another mistake, I focused on the other three words—BIDE, WASHING, and CART—and realized that all of them could be part of the presidents’ names. That put NIX where it needed to be, and I completed this Connections game.
How did your day go? Send me an email and let me know.
Yesterday's NYT Connections Answers (Tuesday, July 16, Game #401)
- YELLOW: IN A BAD MOOD CROSSED, LOW, SURLY, UNUSUAL
- GREEN: EXPERIMENTAL EXPLORATORY, PILOT, PRELIMINARY, TRIAL
- BLUE: BEGINNINGS OF BROADWAY MUSICALS VIOLINIST, JERSEY, PERVERT, HAPPY
- PURPLE: PETER ___ BREAD, PARKER, PIPER, RABBIT
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.
