NYT Connections hints and answers for Sunday, March 23 (game #651)
My clues will help you solve the NYT's Connections puzzle today and keep that streak going

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Saturday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Saturday, March 22 (game #650).
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 Connections hints.
What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
NYT Connections today (game #651) - today's words
Today's NYT Connections words are…
- SMART
- AIRPLANE
- BACK
- GRAB
- BUTTONS
- STOP
- FLY
- FAIRY
- ENTRANCE
- BLACK
- RIVET
- MACK
- WRIST
- ABSORB
- HOSPITAL
NYT Connections today (game #651) - hint #1 - group hints
What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: Under a spell
- GREEN: They help you fly but have another meaning too
- BLUE: You tell time with these
- PURPLE: Clapping game lyrics
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…
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NYT Connections today (game #651) - hint #2 - group answers
What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: CAPTIVATE
- GREEN: THINGS WITH WINGS
- BLUE: WORDS THAT MODIFY "WATCH"
- PURPLE: WORDS REPEATED IN "MISS MARY MACK"
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Connections today (game #651) - the answers
The answers to today's Connections, game #651, are…
- YELLOW: CAPTIVATE ABSORB, ENTRANCE, GRAB, RIVET
- GREEN: THINGS WITH WINGS AIRPLANE, FAIRY, FLY, HOSPITAL
- BLUE: WORDS THAT MODIFY "WATCH" POCKET, SMART, STOP, WRIST
- PURPLE: WORDS REPEATED IN "MISS MARY MACK" BACK, BLACK, BUTTONS, MACK
- My rating: Hard
- My score: 2 mistakes
A day of double meanings. I was so locked on ENTRANCE being an opening to something that it didn’t occur to me that we were looking for the other definition, so I wasted a couple of mistakes trying to link it with FLY and BUTTONS. When that didn’t work I convinced myself we were looking for fasteners, so FLY again, BUTTONS, RIVET and in a trance of confusion MACK.
It had all started so well too. The second I saw SMART and WRIST I thought “watch”, although if we were playing a Jeopardy! version of Connections I would never have answered WORDS THAT MODIFY “WATCH”.
According to Wikipedia, Miss Mary Mack is the world’s best known clapping song, but I’ve never heard of it. Reading the rest of the lyrics, apparently Mary also enjoyed smoking her father’s pipe – and she was no doubt friends with a goose who drank wine and a monkey who chewed tobacco on the streetcar line.
How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.
Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Saturday, 22 March, game #650)
- YELLOW: MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS TAMBOURINE, THEREMIN, TIMPANI, TROMBONE
- GREEN: KNICKKNACK TCHOTCHKE, THINGAMAJIG, TRIFLE, TRINKET
- BLUE: WORDS WITH THE PREFIX MEANING "THREE" TRIANGLE, TRIDENT, TRILLION, TRILOBITE
- PURPLE: WORDS ABBREVIATED WITH "T" + LETTER TELEVISION, TOUCHDOWN, TRADEMARK, TUBERCULOSIS
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.
Johnny is a freelance pop culture journalist who has been writing about the internet, music, football and famous people since the iPhone was just a twinkle in Steve Jobs' eye. Previously known by the pseudonym the Pop Detective, his journalistic career began making up stories about Madonna's addiction to sausage rolls (this is not true by the way). A man of few talents, his career is rich and various and includes the highs of interviewing Elton John and Blur; and the lows of interviewing Right Said Fred, appearing on a Channel 5 documentary about Peter Kay, and fact-checking the instruction manual for a German cooker. Somehow still affording to live in North London he is at his happiest riding his bicycle and shouting at pigeons.
- Marc McLarenGlobal Editor in Chief
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