The New York Times daily puzzle, Connections, challenges players to group words based on shared themes. Today’s edition (#870) proved particularly difficult, especially with its tricky purple category. Here’s a breakdown of the solutions, with hints for those still playing.
Puzzle Overview
The goal is to identify four groups of four words each. The categories range from straightforward associations to obscure connections, requiring lateral thinking. The puzzle’s difficulty comes from the deliberate ambiguity of some word choices.
Hints by Category
The puzzle groups are color-coded: yellow (easiest), green, blue, and purple (most challenging).
- Yellow: Think of overused or uninspired ideas.
- Green: These terms describe intelligence or being well-informed.
- Blue: These words are all found on a common electronic device.
- Purple: A pop culture category… consider famous performers and slight alterations.
Complete Solutions
Here are the groupings for today’s puzzle:
- Yellow (Banality): Chestnut, cliché, platitude, trope. These words all represent something dull, commonplace, or predictable.
- Green (In the Know): Aware, hip, savvy, wise. These terms describe someone with street smarts or a deep understanding of a situation.
- Blue (Remote Control Buttons): Back, home, menu, select. All common functions on a TV or streaming device remote.
- Purple (One-Named Singer + Starting Letter): Gusher (Usher), Kenya (Enya), ocher (Cher), pelvis (Elvis). This group requires recognizing popular musicians and adding a single letter to their names for a playful twist.
New Tools for Puzzle Fans
The Times has recently introduced a Connections Bot, similar to its Wordle counterpart. This tool provides a numeric score after gameplay and analyzes performance. Registered users can track statistics like completion rate, perfect scores, and win streaks. This reflects a broader trend toward gamified data tracking in popular online puzzles.
Final Thoughts
Today’s Connections puzzle demonstrated the game’s ability to combine wordplay with pop culture references. The purple category, in particular, was designed to challenge even seasoned players. The addition of performance tracking tools suggests the Times aims to increase player engagement through quantifiable progress.
