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 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 #574) - today's words
Today's NYT Connections words are…
- STOP
- GROSS
- MAKE
- HOME
- YIELD
- VOLUME
- SLOW
- SNARE
- QUIET
- KETTLE
- NET
- MUTE
- EAR
- SLEEPY
- OIL
- CALM
NYT Connections today (game #574) - hint #1 - group hints
What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: Totally chill
- GREEN: Get paid
- BLUE: TV buttons
- PURPLE: Bang the ….
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 #574) - hint #2 - group answers
What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: HARDLY BUSTLING
- GREEN: EARN
- BLUE: REMOTE CONTROL FUNCTIONS
- PURPLE: WORDS BEFORE "DRUM"
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Connections today (game #574) - the answers
The answers to today's Connections, game #574, are…
- YELLOW: HARDLY BUSTLING CALM, QUIET, SLEEPY, SLOW
- GREEN: EARN GROSS, MAKE, NET, YIELD
- BLUE: REMOTE CONTROL FUNCTIONS HOME, MUTE, STOP, VOLUME
- PURPLE: WORDS BEFORE "DRUM" EAR, KETTLE, OIL, SNARE
- My rating: Easy
- My score: 1 mistake
A very rare Connections for me today, as the first group I got was the purple collection of WORDS BEFORE “DRUM”. I got there after one mistake; I did initially think EAR was linked with VOLUME and MUTE, which both turned out to be REMOTE CONTROL FUNCTIONS instead.
“Mute” is the kind of remote control function I only discover when I press it accidentally – usually by sitting on it and usually at some vital moment of the final episode of a tense drama – and have to scan the buttons to turn it off. I suffer similar issues with Netflix, which I think I’m watching with subtitles on because I’m thoughtful and don’t want to disturb anyone, but actually I’m watching with subtitles on because I can’t remember how to turn the subtitles off.
Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Saturday, 4 January, game #573)
- YELLOW: CRUSH INTO A COMPACT SHAPE BALL, CRUMPLE, SCRUNCH, WAD
- GREEN: FASTENERS BUCKLE, CLIP, HOOK, SNAP
- BLUE: MARK AS COMPLETED CHECK, CROSS, STRIKE, TICK
- PURPLE: DEPICTED IN DALÍ'S "THE PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY" ANT, BRANCH, CLOCK, MELTING
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.
