A little help. Your own aha.

Connections #61
hints & answers for August 11, 2023

Keep the satisfaction of the solve. Get a nudge for one group, reveal a category, or check the answers at your own pace.

This reference always shows August 11, 2023. It is released in at least one timezone; every answer stays closed until you reveal it.

Which group has you stuck?

Pick a colour. Reveal one step at a time.

Yellow group

Straightforward

1/4
First-letter clue

Look for four entries beginning with E, F, H and O. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

EINSTEIN belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

THEORETICAL PHYSICISTS

Reveal all four words
  • EINSTEIN
  • FEYNMAN
  • HAWKING
  • OPPENHEIMER

Green group

A little trickier

2/4
First-letter clue

Look for four entries beginning with F, F, G and G. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

FACULTY belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

TALENT

Reveal all four words
  • FACULTY
  • FLAIR
  • GENIUS
  • GIFT

Blue group

More challenging

3/4
First-letter clue

Look for four entries beginning with B, B, C and M. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

BARBIE belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

AUSTRALIAN TERMS

Reveal all four words
  • BARBIE
  • BUSH
  • CRIKEY
  • MATE

Purple group

Wordplay & surprises

4/4
Wordplay hint

Try adding the same ending to each entry.

Show one word

MATCH belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

___ POINT

Reveal all four words
  • MATCH
  • MOOT
  • SELLING
  • WEST

Each entry comes before "POINT" to form a word, expression or name: MATCH → MATCH POINT; MOOT → MOOT POINT; SELLING → SELLING POINT; WEST → WEST POINT.

Show categories only
  • Yellow: THEORETICAL PHYSICISTS
  • Green: TALENT
  • Blue: AUSTRALIAN TERMS
  • Purple: ___ POINT

Ready for the full solution?

All four categories and their words, together.

Reveal all four answers

Yellow

THEORETICAL PHYSICISTS

EINSTEIN · FEYNMAN · HAWKING · OPPENHEIMER

Green

TALENT

FACULTY · FLAIR · GENIUS · GIFT

Blue

AUSTRALIAN TERMS

BARBIE · BUSH · CRIKEY · MATE

Purple

___ POINT

MATCH · MOOT · SELLING · WEST

This puzzle’s recorded solution

The date and puzzle number identify this exact board. Use the individual group controls to compare its recorded categories and words, then return to the archive to find another puzzle.

About the answers and hints

Categories and answers follow the recorded NYT puzzle. Our hints are independent: some are original category clues, while others give the first letters of the four words. Each hint is labelled so you can choose how much help to take.

Group colours follow the puzzle’s yellow, green, blue and purple order, from the most straightforward to the trickiest. Your own experience may differ. The reference tiles may appear in a different order from your game. Picture puzzles have separately hidden descriptions, since a description can give away the wordplay.

The daily page starts with the UTC puzzle date and, with JavaScript enabled, checks the puzzle for your local time zone. Every reveal starts closed when the date changes. Play Connections at The New York Times or contact us about a correction.