Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need clues.
What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Wordle hints and answers, Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too. And you might well need them for Wordle in particular, because today's Wordle is the hardest for two years and the third hardest ever.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
Marc is TechRadar’s Global Editor in Chief and has been obsessed with Wordle and its ilk for more than two years. He's authored dozens of articles on the game for TechRadar, including a daily today's Wordle answer column and a detailed analysis of the most common letters in Wordle in every position. He's also played every Wordle ever and only lost once and yes, he takes it all too seriously.
NYT Connections today (game #492) - today's words
Today's NYT Connections words are…
- DRIVE
- PENNYWISE
- SAFETY
- NICKELODEON
- QUARTERBACK
- HISTORY
- DIMENSIONAL
- HOMEY
- DEFENSE
- GUARD
- JOKER
- DISCOVERY
- OXYGEN
- DEMOCRAT
- CENTER
- RONALD
NYT Connections today (game #492) - hint #1 - group hints
What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?
- Yellow: Linebacker is another
- Green: Channel surfing
- Blue: 'Funny' people
- Purple: 4th letter
Need more clues?
We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…
NYT Connections today (game #492) - hint #2 - group answers
What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: FOOTBALL POSITIONS
- GREEN: CABLE CHANNELS
- BLUE: FICTIONAL CLOWNS
- PURPLE: WHAT “D” MIGHT STAND FOR
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Connections today (game #492) - the answers
The answers to today's Connections, game #492, are…
- YELLOW: FOOTBALL POSITIONS CENTER, GUARD, QUARTERBACK, SAFETY
- GREEN: CABLE CHANNELS DISCOVERY, HISTORY, NICKELODEON, OXYGEN
- BLUE: FICTIONAL CLOWNS HOMEY, JOKER, PENNYWISE, RONALD
- PURPLE: WHAT “D” MIGHT STAND FOR DEFENSE, DEMOCRAT, DIMENSIONAL, DRIVE
- My rating: Hard
- My score: Fail
My verdict on today's Connections: too American. That's not a criticism as such – my days of ranting about the NYT's refusal to make a game that works for people worldwide are over. After all, it is a US publication, so I just have to accept that there will be days like today where it is just too difficult for a Brit like me.
For instance, talk about FOOTBALL POSITIONS and my mind goes to soccer; I'm looking for goalkeeper and winger, not CENTER, GUARD, QUARTERBACK and SAFETY. I know enough about the game that I made a couple of attempts at solving it, but though I was fairly sure about QUARTERBACK and GUARD I didn't know enough to get the other two, adding various combinations that included DEFENSE instead.
Likewise, CABLE CHANNELS cost me a guess, because I have never heard of OXYGEN, and with FICTIONAL CLOWNS I was not aware of HOMEY. It was all just too far outside of my comfort zone.
How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.
Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Monday, 14 October, game #491)
- YELLOW: RUMMAGE COMB, DIG, ROOT, SIFT
- GREEN: SOUNDS OF THUNDER CLAP, PEAL, ROLL, RUMBLE
- BLUE: WAYS TO WEAR YOUR HAIR UP BRAID, BUN, PONY, TWIST
- PURPLE: THINGS THAT CAN HAVE LEAVES BOOK, SALAD, TABLE, TREE
What is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.
On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.
It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.
It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
