A little help. Your own aha.

Connections #523
hints & answers for November 15, 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 November 15, 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 C, H, L and P. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

CRACK belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

FISSURE

Reveal all four words
  • CRACK
  • HOLE
  • LEAK
  • PUNCTURE

Green group

A little trickier

2/4
First-letter clue

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

Show one word

LETTER belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

ELEMENTS OF WRITING

Reveal all four words
  • LETTER
  • PHRASE
  • SENTENCE
  • WORD

Blue group

More challenging

3/4
First-letter clue

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

Show one word

JUG belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

INSTRUMENTS YOU BLOW INTO

Reveal all four words
  • JUG
  • PIPE
  • RECORDER
  • WHISTLE

Purple group

Wordplay & surprises

4/4
Wordplay hint

Try adding the same ending to each entry.

Show one word

NICK belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

___ OF TIME

Reveal all four words
  • NICK
  • PASSAGE
  • SANDS
  • WASTE

Each entry comes before "OF TIME" to form a word, expression or name: NICK → NICK OF TIME; PASSAGE → PASSAGE OF TIME; SANDS → SANDS OF TIME; WASTE → WASTE OF TIME.

Show categories only
  • Yellow: FISSURE
  • Green: ELEMENTS OF WRITING
  • Blue: INSTRUMENTS YOU BLOW INTO
  • Purple: ___ OF TIME

Ready for the full solution?

All four categories and their words, together.

Reveal all four answers

Yellow

FISSURE

CRACK · HOLE · LEAK · PUNCTURE

Green

ELEMENTS OF WRITING

LETTER · PHRASE · SENTENCE · WORD

Blue

INSTRUMENTS YOU BLOW INTO

JUG · PIPE · RECORDER · WHISTLE

Purple

___ OF TIME

NICK · PASSAGE · SANDS · WASTE

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.