A little help. Your own aha.

Connections #81
hints & answers for August 31, 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 31, 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 F, N, P and W. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

FRY belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

APPETIZER UNIT

Reveal all four words
  • FRY
  • NACHO
  • POPPER
  • WING

Green group

A little trickier

2/4
First-letter clue

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

Show one word

BINGO belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

RESPONSE TO A CORRECT ANSWER

Reveal all four words
  • BINGO
  • CORRECT
  • RIGHT
  • YES

Blue group

More challenging

3/4
First-letter clue

Look for four entries beginning with C, D, N and S. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

CHIP belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

MAR

Reveal all four words
  • CHIP
  • DING
  • NICK
  • SCRATCH

Purple group

Wordplay & surprises

4/4
Wordplay hint

Try adding the same ending to each entry.

Show one word

APPLE belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

___JACK

Reveal all four words
  • APPLE
  • CRACKER
  • FLAP
  • LUMBER

Each entry comes before "JACK" to form a word, expression or name: APPLE → APPLE JACK; CRACKER → CRACKER JACK; FLAP → FLAP JACK; LUMBER → LUMBER JACK.

Show categories only
  • Yellow: APPETIZER UNIT
  • Green: RESPONSE TO A CORRECT ANSWER
  • Blue: MAR
  • Purple: ___JACK

Ready for the full solution?

All four categories and their words, together.

Reveal all four answers

Yellow

APPETIZER UNIT

FRY · NACHO · POPPER · WING

Green

RESPONSE TO A CORRECT ANSWER

BINGO · CORRECT · RIGHT · YES

Blue

MAR

CHIP · DING · NICK · SCRATCH

Purple

___JACK

APPLE · CRACKER · FLAP · LUMBER

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.