A little help. Your own aha.

Connections #461
hints & answers for September 14, 2024

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 September 14, 2024. 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 G, R, V and W. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

GRAPE belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

WINE BOTTLE INFO

Reveal all four words
  • GRAPE
  • REGION
  • VINTAGE
  • WINERY

Green group

A little trickier

2/4
First-letter clue

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

Show one word

BUTTON belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

CONSOLE INPUTS

Reveal all four words
  • BUTTON
  • KNOB
  • SLIDER
  • SWITCH

Blue group

More challenging

3/4
First-letter clue

Look for four entries beginning with P, R, S and S. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

PRO belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

PREFIXES

Reveal all four words
  • PRO
  • RETRO
  • SUB
  • SUPER

Purple group

Wordplay & surprises

4/4
Wordplay hint

Try adding the same ending to each entry.

Show one word

BURGER belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

___ KING

Reveal all four words
  • BURGER
  • CALIFORNIA
  • LION
  • PROM

Each entry comes before "KING" to form a word, expression or name: BURGER → BURGER KING; CALIFORNIA → CALIFORNIA KING; LION → LION KING; PROM → PROM KING.

Show categories only
  • Yellow: WINE BOTTLE INFO
  • Green: CONSOLE INPUTS
  • Blue: PREFIXES
  • Purple: ___ KING

Ready for the full solution?

All four categories and their words, together.

Reveal all four answers

Yellow

WINE BOTTLE INFO

GRAPE · REGION · VINTAGE · WINERY

Green

CONSOLE INPUTS

BUTTON · KNOB · SLIDER · SWITCH

Blue

PREFIXES

PRO · RETRO · SUB · SUPER

Purple

___ KING

BURGER · CALIFORNIA · LION · PROM

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.