NYT Daily Insight: Uncovering the Secrets of Connection #359 on June 4Th

Connections is a game from the New York Times that challenges you to find the association between words. It sounds easy, but it isn’t—Connections categories can be almost anything, and they’re usually quite specific. If you need a hand getting the answers, we’ve got you covered.

What Is Connections?

Connections is a game from the New York Times. The objective is simple: sort 16 words into groups of 4. Each group of words will be connected by some common idea or theme. That common element could be anything. We have seen everything from games that rely on the number of letters in the words to categories that require you to spot an extra letter at the end of the word. Sometimes they’re references to economics, other times they reference fairy tales. There is no telling what sort of association there will be between words.

Once you’re confident you understand the connection, select 4 words, then hit “Submit.” You have only four attempts in total, so don’t be too guess-happy.

Hints for Today’s Connections Groups

Here are a few hints for the 359th Connections game to get you started:

• Yellow: Money.
• Green: Gandalf or Dumbledore.
• Blue: Parts of a boat.
• Purple: Try putting a letter ahead of these words.

If you still need help, the actual group names are:

• Yellow: Take Hom, As Income
• Green: Parts of a Wizard Costume
• Blue: Found on a Ship
• Purple: C-______

Today’s NYT Connections Answers

Take Home, As Income (Yellow):

Clear, Earn, Make, Net

Parts of a Wizard Costume (Green):

Beard, Hat, Robe, Staff

Found on a Ship (Blue):

Bridge, Deck, Hatch, Keel

C-_______ (Purple):

Clef, Section, Span, Suite

How Did We Solve This Connections Game?

June 4th’s game seemed easier than June 3rd’s puzzle.

The first word I started with was hat. By happy coincidence, I’m rereading the Lord of the Rings, and Gandalf is on my mind. That made picking out beard, hat, robe, and staff as “Parts of a Wizard Costume” (Green), easier than it might have been normally.

Next, I looked at bridge. Bridge can be a verb that means to connect, but it can also refer to a structure used to span across geographical obstacles, or a part of a ship. The last definition fits well with deck, hatch, and keel, so I assumed that there was a connection related to boats. Blue was “Found on a Ship.”

With 8 words left, earn, make, net, and clear are obviously terms related to net income somehow. Yellow was “Take Home, as Income.”

That left Purple. Yesterday’s game put a letter directly in front of the remaining words, and that pattern carried through today. Instead of placing B in front of the words, the connection was “C-______.” C-clef, c-section, c-span, and c-suite. Not too hard, but a little surprising that the exact same formula was used two days in a row.

How Do You Guess Connections Groups?

There is no quick, reliable way to approach Connections like there is with Wordle, since Connections isn’t algorithmic. However, there are a few things to keep in mind that can help.

1. Look for similar parts of speech. Are some words verbs and others nouns? Are some adjectives? Try mentally grouping them based on those categories and see if any other patterns jump out at you.
2. Are the words synonyms? Sometimes categories will just be synonyms for a phrase, or very close to synonyms. Don’t rely too closely on this, though. Occasionally, Connections will deliberately throw in words that are sometimes synonyms to mislead you.
3. Try saying the words. Sometimes, saying the words helps. One puzzle we saw included the words go, rate, faster, clip, pace, speed, move, commute, and hurry—all of which are obviously related to the idea of motion. However, when you say them, it becomes a little more obvious that only four (go, move, hurry, faster) are things you’d actually say to prompt someone to get moving.
4. Expect the red herring . Connections usually has words that could be plausibly, yet incorrectly, grouped together. Take the words Bud, Corona, and Light, as an example. You might instinctively see those three words together and assume they’re lumped together in a category related to beer—but they weren’t.
5. Look for distinct words. If a word on your board doesn’t have multiple meanings or can really only be used in one context, try using that word as the basis for a category.
6. Shuffle the board. Sometimes, moving words around will help you look at them in new ways.

If you didn’t solve this one, don’t feel too bad—there’s always tomorrow! And those words may align with a topic you’re interested in, giving you a leg up on the competition.