Connections Helper

Paste today's 16 words — we'll surface patterns. We do not reveal answers.

Connections Strategy Guide

The single most useful skill in Connections is resisting the obvious answer. The NYT puzzle is deliberately built to mislead you with words that seem to fit a category but actually belong somewhere else.

Take your 16 words and read them slowly. Say them out loud. Then ask: could any of these words be hiding a different meaning? A word that looks like a noun might be acting as a verb. A word that looks specific might be part of a phrase.

The purple group almost always involves wordplay. Look for words that can all precede or follow a single word. Look for words that are all hidden inside a longer phrase. Look for words that are all slang for the same thing.

Write down at least 2 possible categories before you commit to any guess.