See its meaning, Wordle status and opener stats.
A little help. Your own aha.
Keep the satisfaction of the solve. Get a nudge for one group, reveal a category, or check the answers at your own pace.
Pick a colour. Reveal one step at a time.
Straightforward
Look for four entries beginning with B, H, L and R. These initials are in sorted order.
BREAK belongs in this group.
TIME OFF
A little trickier
Look for four entries beginning with B, H, L and S. These initials are in sorted order.
BUCKLE belongs in this group.
FEATURES OF A BELT
More challenging
Try saying these aloud instead of looking at their spelling.
HOLEY belongs in this group.
HOMOPHONES
These entries are pronounced alike despite their different spellings.
Wordplay & surprises
Try adding the same ending to each entry.
DOG belongs in this group.
___WOOD
Each entry comes before "WOOD" to form a word, expression or name.
All four categories and their words, together.
Yellow
BREAK · HOLIDAY · LEAVE · RECESS
Green
BUCKLE · HOLE · LOOP · STRAP
Blue
HOLEY · HOLI · HOLY · WHOLLY
Purple
DOG · DRIFT · HOLLY · SANDAL
Make the connection
Connections asks you to sort 16 words into four groups of four. Each group shares something: a meaning, a phrase, a sound, or an unexpected bit of wordplay.
Start with the group that has you stuck. Open its hint, try again, and reveal more only when you need it. Nothing you open will uncover a different group.
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.
