The New York Times daily Connections puzzle challenges players to group sixteen words into four categories of four. Today’s puzzle (#888) proved particularly tricky for some. Here are the hints and answers for those who need assistance.
Puzzle Breakdown and Hints
The Times now offers a Connections Bot, similar to its Wordle tool, allowing players to track their performance with numeric scores and detailed analytics. This caters to competitive players who enjoy monitoring their progress, including win rates and perfect scores.
For those struggling, here are the hints, ranked from easiest to hardest:
- Yellow Group: Focuses on enhancing flavor.
- Green Group: Relates to grammatical elements.
- Blue Group: Concerns performers in the entertainment industry.
- Purple Group: A metaphorical area of safety or transition.
Full Answers Revealed
The solutions to today’s Connections puzzle are:
- Yellow Group (Enhance the Taste Of): Flavor, Salt, Season, Spice
- Green Group (Punctuation Marks): Colon, Dash, Period, Slash
- Blue Group (Kinds of Actors): Character, Film, Method, Stage
- Purple Group (____ Zone): Buffer, Comfort, Time, Twilight
Notable Past Puzzles
Some past Connections puzzles have been notoriously difficult. The Times has tracked patterns in previous challenges:
- #5: Challenged players with “things you can set,” including mood, record, table, and volleyball.
- #4: Featured the confusing grouping “one in a dozen,” with answers like egg, juror, month, and rose.
- #3: Tricked players with “streets on screen” – Elm, Fear, Jump, and Sesame.
- #2: Tested players with “power ___” – nap, plant, Ranger, and trip.
- #1: Puzzled players with “things that can run” – candidate, faucet, mascara, and nose.
The Connections puzzle’s difficulty varies wildly, sometimes relying on obscure cultural references or highly abstract connections. This makes consistent success challenging, even for dedicated players.
