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.
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 #472) - today's words
Today's NYT Connections words are…
- HAT TRICK
- HOME RUN
- BROIL
- PAINT
- SOAP BOX
- TRIPLE CROWN
- DROP CLOTH
- WINGS
- ROLLER
- KENTUCKY
- SPROUTS
- TRIFECTA
- DEMOLITION
- TAPE
- THREEPEAT
- CHEESESTEAK
NYT Connections today (game #472) - hint #1 - group hints
What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?
- Yellow: Sporting win Sporting win Sporting win
- Green: Just add paint
- Blue: Eaten in a certain place?
- Purple: Blank [word for a contest between rivals]
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 #472) - hint #2 - group answers
What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: TRIO OF SPORTS ACHIEVEMENTS
- GREEN: NEEDS FOR PAINTING A ROOM
- BLUE: FOOD NAMED AFTER CITIES
- PURPLE: ___ DERBY
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Connections today (game #472) - the answers
The answers to today's Connections, game #472, are…
- YELLOW: TRIO OF SPORTS ACHIEVEMENTS HAT TRICK, THREEPEAT, TRIFECTA, TRIPLE CROWN
- GREEN: NEEDS FOR PAINTING A ROOM DROP CLOTH, PAINT, ROLLER, TAPE
- BLUE: FOOD NAMED AFTER CITIES BROIL, CHEESESTEAK, SPROUTS, WINGS
- PURPLE: ___ DERBY DEMOLITION, HOME RUN, KENTUCKY, SOAP BOX
- My rating: Moderate
- My score: 3 mistakes
I nearly failed today's Connections puzzle, only completing the final group on my final guess. But in my defence, a couple of them were very US-centric connections that I couldn't be expected to solve, given that I'm not in the US and have never lived there.
Those groups were blue and purple, and blue in particular was simply impossible; I've heard of a Philly CHEESESTEAK but have no idea what SPROUTS, WINGS and BROIL refer to. Similarly, on the purple group I was able to correctly find the __DERBY group via DEMOLITION, KENTUCKY and SOAP BOX, but guessed ROLLER rather than HOME RUN. I presume the latter is related to baseball in some way, so probably should have spotted it as a possibility sooner.
How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.
Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Tuesday, 24 September, game #471)
- YELLOW: INSPIRED CREATIVE, FRESH, NOVEL, ORIGINAL
- GREEN: PROCURE IN ADVANCE BOOK, CHARTER, RESERVE, SECURE
- BLUE: BIT OF PARTY DECORATION BALLOON, BANNER, CONFETTI, GARLAND
- PURPLE: ONLINE PERSONALITY AMBASSADOR, INFLUENCER, MODEL, STREAMER
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.
