Find the links between the words to win today’s game of Connections.
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Each day’s game of NYT Connections goes live at midnight local time. Before we get to today’s NYT Connections hints and answers, here’s what you missed on Monday:
Hey there, Connectors! I hope you’ve had a great start to your week.
While talking with a couple of colleagues recently about a video game that has had a very strong grip on me (and now them after I raved about it), I mentioned that a Ghostbusters quote sprang to mind while I was playing. But I messed up my reference to “There is no Dana, only Zuul” in each of those conversations. I realized my error in hindsight. I’m sure they both knew the real quote though neither called me out on it.
I’m probably overthinking this, but I feel like they extended me some grace by not mentioning the mistake or joking about it. Giving someone the benefit of the doubt and letting genuine, innocuous mistakes slide are things I try to do myself, so I appreciated that.
Today’s NYT Connections hints and answers for Tuesday, October 21 are coming right up. Let’s get rolling!
NYT Connections Hints – How To Play
Connections is a free New York Times daily word game that you can play on the NYT’s website or Games app. If you have an NYT All Access or Games subscription, you can access the Connections archive, which includes every previous game.
Connections presents you with a grid of 16 words (sometimes phrases, symbols or numbers). The aim is to arrange them into four groups of four. You don’t know how they hit together or what the category for each group is: that’s what you have to figure out.
There’s only one correct solution and there are often red herrings. You can guess incorrectly three times. A fourth wrong guess, and it’s game over.
Each group is color coded. The yellow group is usually the easiest to deduce, followed by blue, green and purple. Often, the yellow and green groups have synonyms, the blues have cultural references and the purples have some kind of wordplay involved. But this is not a hard and fast rule. Be ready for curveballs – part of the fun of Connections is in how the NYT shakes things up to keep you on your toes.
As with Wordle and similar games, it’s easy to share results with your friends using an emoji-based grid. The game tracks your progress too.
Many players take pride in having long win streaks or getting a reverse rainbow – correctly guessing the purple, blue, green and yellow groups in that order with no mistakes. That adds an extra little challenge.
NYT Connections Hints – Today’s Word List
Scroll slowly! I’ll first give you a list of today’s words, then a hint for each category. After that, I’ll reveal one word that goes into each group. Then I’ll tell you the category names, followed by the full answers.
Today’s 16 words are…
- BUCKS
- DOES
- BULLS
- DRONES
- QUEENS
- HORNETS
- ADDRESSES
- TELEVISIONS
- GARAGE DOORS
- HANDLES
- KINGS
- JACKS
- SPURS
- ACES
- TACKLES
- WIIS
NYT Connections Hints
And the hints for today’s Connections groups are:
- 🟨 Yellow group — all decked out
- 🟩 Green group — goes for it
- 🟦 Blue group — a bit like jesters of old, these often entertain on the court
- 🟪 Purple group — like stereos, toilet seats, lights and cameras
NYT Connections Hints – One Answer Per Group
Need some extra help?
Be warned: we’re starting to get into spoiler territory.
Let’s take a look at one answer for each group.
Here we go…
- 🟨 Yellow group — ACES
- 🟩 Green group — HANDLES
- 🟦 Blue group — SPURS
- 🟪 Purple group — WIIS
NYT Connections Hints – Groups/Categories
Today’s Connections groups are…
- 🟨 Yellow group — playing cards
- 🟩 Green group — takes on
- 🟦 Blue group — NBA teams
- 🟪 Purple group — things you can control with remotes
NYT Connections Answers
Spoiler alert! Don’t scroll any further down the page until you’re ready to find out today’s Connections answers.
This is your last chance to look away.
This is your final warning!
Today’s Connections answers are…
- 🟨 Yellow group — playing cards (ACES, JACKS, KINGS, QUEENS)
- 🟩 Green group — takes on (ADDRESSES, DOES, HANDLES, TACKLES)
- 🟦 Blue group — NBA teams (BUCKS, BULLS, HORNETS, SPURS)
- 🟪 Purple group — things you can control with remotes (DRONES, GARAGE DOORS, TELEVISIONS, WIIS)
Well, that’s a whole bunch of words that ends in a “s!”
I know enough about the NBA to have recognized those teams quickly: Milwaukee BUCKS, Chicago BULLS, Charlotte HORNETS and San Antonio SPURS. Pretty straightforward, I thought.
The yellows were no problem at all after that. The greens then fell into place. I initially thought of DOES as several female deer, but seeing that next to HANDLES and TACKLES cleared things up. It took me a moment to realize ADDRESSES was the final word.
After the animal red herring, my first thought about today’s grid was “what on earth do multiple Nintendo Wii units have to do with any of this?” That was the only thing I could think that WIIS could relate to. And that’s exactly what they were all about. That and TELEVISIONS sealed the deal for me for the purples.
I do have to wonder how many people remember that you used a remote (more accurately the Wiimote) to control the Wii. I think that’s going to prove a toughie for many players.
Regardless, that’s win 234 in a row in the tank pour moi. How did you get on?
Here’s my grid for today:
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟪🟪🟪🟪
I don’t think we need an Answers Explained column today. The yellows are straightforward, the greens are synonyms and I’ve already spelled out the blues and what WIIS refers. The only other thing I think is worth pointing out is the red herring of gendered animals: JACKS (male donkeys), BUCKS and DOES (male and female deer), DRONES and QUEENS (ants or bees) and BULLS (male bovines).
Would you like chat with some lovely folks about today’s game? Want to hang out with others who enjoy Connections and other word games? You’re more than welcome to join our community on Discord. Expect fun GIFs, photos from Connectors’ travels and all kinds of other fun stuff.
That’s all there is to it for today’s Connections clues and answers. Be sure to check my blog tomorrow for hints and the solution for Wednesday’s game if you need them.
P.S. I love a good mashup and DJ Cummerbund makes some of the best ones around. I absolutely love this mix of “Dragula” by Rob Zombie, “Apt” by Bruno Mars and Rosé, and about half a dozen other songs I really like (and also “Macho Man” Randy Savage soundbites?). This is bizarre and it goes in so many directions, but it all somehow works. This made me very happy:
Have a great day! Stay hydrated! Be kind to yourself and each other! Call someone you love!
Please follow my blog for more NYT Connections hints and help with other word games, and even some video game news, insights and analysis. It helps me out a lot! Sharing this column with other people who play Connections would be appreciated too. You can also read my weekend editions of this column at my newsletter, Pastimes.
