Connect the Dots with The New York Times’ Puzzle - Solutions for June 21St, Issue #376

Quick Links

• What Is Connections?
• Hints for Today’s Connections Groups
• Today’s NYT Connections Answers
• How Did We Solve This Connections Game?
• How Do You Guess Connections Groups?

Connections is a game from the New York Times that challenges you to find the association between words. It sounds easy, but it isn’t—Connections categories can be almost anything, and they’re usually quite specific. If you need a hand getting the answers, we’ve got you covered.

What Is Connections?

Connections is a game from the New York Times. The objective is simple: sort 16 words into groups of 4. Each group of words will be connected by some common idea or theme. That common element could be anything. We have seen everything from games that rely on the number of letters in the words to categories that require you to spot an extra letter at the end of the word. Sometimes they’re references to economics, other times they reference fairy tales. There is no telling what sort of association there will be between words.

Once you’re confident you understand the connection, select 4 words, then hit “Submit.” You have only four attempts in total, so don’t be too guess-happy.

Hints for Today’s Connections Groups

Here are a few hints for the 376th Connections game to get you started:

• Yellow: A way of having fun.
• Green: When you say yes.
• Blue: When the person starting at a disadvantage does well.
• Purple: An annoying driving occurence

If you still need help, the actual group names are:

• Yellow: Amusement Park Rides
• Green: Approval
• Blue: Types of Come-From-Behind Stories
• Purple: Beginning With Synonyms for Rear End

Today’s NYT Connections Answers

Amusement Park Rides (Yellow):

Ferris Wheel, Merry-Go-Round, Roller Coaster, Tilt-A-Whirl

Approval (Green):

Clearance, Go-Ahead, Green Light, Thumbs-Up

Types of Come-From-Behind Stories (Blue):

Cinderella, David-And-Goliath, Rags-To-Riches, Underdog

Beginning With Synonyms For Read End (Purple):

Bumper-to-Bumper, Buttermilk, Rumpelstiltskin, Tailgate

How Did We Solve This Connections Game?

June 21st was pretty average.

The first word I latched on to was underdog. That immediately got me thinking about comeback stories, and from there, it was easy to pick out Cinderella, David-and-Goliath, and rags-to-riches. Blue was just “Types of Come-From-Behind Stories.”

Ferris Wheel. It is unambiguously a type of carnival or amusement park ride, so I went looking for other things that you might find at such events. I settled on merry-go-round, roller coaster, and tilt-a-whirl. Yellow was “Amusement Park Rides.”

Green Light means to approve something, so I went looking for other expressions that could mean the same thing. Go-ahead is a pretty direct synonym, and so is thumbs-up. Clearance is slightly different, but it is used in much the same way, so I threw it into the group I was going to guess. That was the Green group, “Approval.”

That left bumper-to-bumper, buttermilk, Rumpelstiltskin, and tailgate. Bumper-to-bumper and tailgate are terms I associated with driving, so I was trying to make some connection there, but for the life of me I couldn’t see how. It turns out the group was “Beginning with Synonyms for Rear End.” I probably would have stared at that one for a long time before it occurred to me.

How Do You Guess Connections Groups?

There is no quick, reliable way to approach Connections like there is with Wordle, since Connections isn’t algorithmic. However, there are a few things to keep in mind that can help.

1. Look for similar parts of speech. Are some words verbs and others nouns? Are some adjectives? Try mentally grouping them based on those categories and see if any other patterns jump out at you.
2. Are the words synonyms? Sometimes categories will just be synonyms for a phrase, or very close to synonyms. Don’t rely too closely on this, though. Occasionally, Connections will deliberately throw in words that are sometimes synonyms to mislead you.
3. Try saying the words. Sometimes, saying the words helps. One puzzle we saw included the words go, rate, faster, clip, pace, speed, move, commute, and hurry—all of which are obviously related to the idea of motion. However, when you say them, it becomes a little more obvious that only four (go, move, hurry, faster) are things you’d actually say to prompt someone to get moving.
4. Expect the red herring . Connections usually has words that could be plausibly, yet incorrectly, grouped together. Take the words Bud, Corona, and Light, as an example. You might instinctively see those three words together and assume they’re lumped together in a category related to beer—but they weren’t.
5. Look for distinct words. If a word on your board doesn’t have multiple meanings or can really only be used in one context, try using that word as the basis for a category.
6. Shuffle the board. Sometimes, moving words around will help you look at them in new ways.

If you didn’t solve this one, don’t feel too bad—there’s always tomorrow! And those words may align with a topic you’re interested in, giving you a leg up on the competition.

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