Think about things you might find in a typical office environment.
These are all items that help organize and store documents.
Filing cabinet, desk drawer, storage box...
Consider things that can be both literal and metaphorical.
These words all describe types of barriers or obstacles.
Think about what blocks your path or vision...
This category involves wordplay and double meanings.
Think about words that can follow a specific common word.
What word can go before each of these to make compound words or phrases?
This is the most abstract category. Look for subtle connections.
These words share a surprising common thread related to measurement.
Think about different ways to measure time, distance, or quantity...
🎯 Today's Strategy Tips
Master today's Connections puzzle with these expert strategies:
Begin by identifying the most apparent connections - usually the Yellow category contains the most straightforward relationships.
Purple categories often involve clever wordplay, compound words, or words that can be prefixed/suffixed with the same term.
Once you've identified 2-3 groups, the remaining words often become clearer by elimination.
Many words have double meanings. A "bark" could be a dog's sound or tree covering - context matters!
🧠 How Connections Works
NYT Connections presents you with 16 words that must be sorted into four groups of four. Each group shares a common theme, connection, or relationship. The difficulty increases from Yellow (easiest) to Purple (trickiest).
Scoring System: You have four mistakes allowed before the game ends. Perfect games are rare and worthy of celebration!
💡 Struggling with Today's Puzzle?
Don't worry! Even experts get stuck. Check out our proven strategies or learn about common mistakes that might be holding you back.
📊 Today's Puzzle Difficulty Analysis
Understanding why today's puzzle was challenging helps you improve for tomorrow. Here's our expert analysis:
This puzzle is rated as medium difficulty based on the complexity of category relationships and the presence of red herrings. The purple category was particularly tricky today!
Key challenge factors include: multiple words with double meanings, a clever fill-in-the-blank category that requires lateral thinking, and strategic red herrings designed to mislead solvers. The purple category involves wordplay that only becomes obvious in retrospect.
Start by identifying the yellow category, which should be the most straightforward. Avoid rushing into purple - instead, solve green and blue first to narrow down your options through elimination. Watch out for words that could fit multiple categories, and always consider alternate meanings before committing to a guess.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
When does the new Connections puzzle come out?
The new NYT Connections puzzle is released every day at 12:00 AM ET (midnight Eastern Time). We update our hints page within minutes of the new puzzle going live, ensuring you have access to fresh hints and strategies as soon as possible!
Should I use hints or try without help?
This is completely personal preference! Our progressive hint system is designed to give you just enough help without spoiling the entire puzzle. We recommend trying to solve on your own first, then using gentle hints if you get stuck, and only viewing full answers if you're completely stumped or have used all four mistakes. The goal is to maintain the fun and satisfaction of solving!
What's the best strategy for solving quickly?
Start with the yellow category - it's designed to be most obvious. Look for clear groupings of four words that share an unmistakable connection. Avoid guessing on purple early; instead, solve the other three categories first and let the final four words reveal themselves through elimination. Always consider multiple meanings of words, and don't rush your guesses. Remember: you only get four mistakes!
Why do I keep getting "one away" messages?
The "one away" message means three of your words are correct, but one belongs to a different category. This often happens with red herring words that could plausibly fit multiple groups. When you see this message, carefully reconsider each word - think about alternate meanings and whether any word might better fit elsewhere. Don't just swap one word and resubmit; take time to reassess the entire group.
How are the difficulty colors determined?
The four colors indicate increasing difficulty: Yellow is the easiest with obvious, straightforward connections. Green is medium difficulty with moderately clear relationships. Blue is hard with less apparent connections or subtle wordplay. Purple is the trickiest with abstract, creative connections that often involve clever wordplay or unexpected relationships. The puzzle creators intentionally design purple categories to make you say "I never would have thought of that!"
🎯 About Today's Connections Puzzle
Today's NYT Connections puzzle continues the tradition of challenging word association gameplay that has made this one of the most popular daily puzzles. Each puzzle is carefully crafted by Wyna Liu, the associate puzzle editor at The New York Times, to provide a perfect balance of solvable challenge and satisfying "aha!" moments.
The beauty of Connections lies in its accessibility - anyone can start playing immediately - combined with surprising depth that keeps expert solvers engaged. Whether you're solving during your morning coffee or taking an evening puzzle break, today's puzzle offers four distinct categories that will test your vocabulary, lateral thinking, and pattern recognition skills.
Remember: every puzzle is solvable with careful thought and strategy. If you're stuck, our progressive hint system above will guide you toward the solution without completely spoiling the satisfaction of solving. Come back tomorrow for a fresh puzzle and new hints!