The New York Times daily Connections puzzle (#897) is available, and many players seek help deciphering the word groupings. This article provides hints and answers for the yellow, green, blue, and purple categories, alongside insights into past challenging puzzles.
Today’s Hints
The puzzle groups are designed with varying difficulty, with the purple category typically being the hardest. Here are clues for each:
- Yellow: These are common kitchen gadgets.
- Green: Items you’d find in a vehicle’s interior.
- Blue: Things encountered during travel screening.
- Purple: Words that conclude with color names.
Today’s Answers
The correct groupings are as follows:
- Yellow: Blender, microwave, rice cooker, toaster. (Theme: Small kitchen appliances)
- Green: Air conditioner, cup holder, radio, shifter. (Theme: Car center console features)
- Blue: Bin, carry-on, metal detector, X-ray. (Theme: Airport security items)
- Purple: Infrared, marigold, stingray, ultraviolet. (Theme: Words ending in colors)
Tracking Performance
The New York Times now offers a Connections Bot similar to the Wordle bot, allowing players to track their performance with a numeric score and analysis of their answer history. This feature is available for registered users of the Times Games section, providing data on puzzles completed, win rate, perfect scores, and streaks.
Challenging Past Puzzles
Some Connections puzzles have been notoriously difficult. The most challenging to date include:
- Puzzle #5: “Things you can set” (mood, record, table, volleyball)
- Puzzle #4: “One in a dozen” (egg, juror, month, rose)
- Puzzle #3: “Streets on screen” (Elm, Fear, Jump, Sesame)
- Puzzle #2: “Power ___” (nap, plant, Ranger, trip)
- Puzzle #1: “Things that can run” (candidate, faucet, mascara, nose)
These puzzles highlight the game’s pattern-finding complexity.
The Connections puzzle continues to engage players with its unique word association challenges. The addition of performance tracking further enhances the game’s appeal for competitive solvers.
