Looking for a different day?
A new NEW Connections puzzle pops up at midnight every day for your time zone – meaning some people always play ‘today’s game’ while others play ‘yesterday’s’. If you’re looking for the Sunday puzzle instead then click here: NEW Connections Hints and Answers for Sunday, February 8 (Game #973).
Good morning! Let’s play Connections, the NYT’s clever word game that challenges you to group answers into different categories. It can be difficult, so read on if you need Connections tips.
SPOILER ALERT: Today’s NYT Connections information is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.
NEW Connections today (game #974) – word of the day
Today’s NEW Connections word is…
- APPROACH
- BONUS
- POKER
- NEEDLE
- STRAW
- TISSUE
- STYLE
- BEFORE
- NEAR
- WAY
- SCISSORS
- PAYMENT
- ROYALTY
- YARN
- MANNER
- THE LINE
NEW Connections today (game #974) – tip #1 – group tip
What are some clues for today’s NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: Things needed for textile production
- GREEN: How it’s done
- BLUE: How writers get paid
- PURPLE: Begin with an artistic word
Need more clues?
We’re firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today’s NYT Connections puzzles…
NEW Connections today (game #974) – tip #2 – group answer
What are the answers for today’s NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: USED IN WEAVING
- GREEN: METHOD
- BLUE: FORM OF PAYMENT FOR AN AUTHOR
- PURPLE: DRAW _____
Okay, the answers are below, so DON’T SCROLL IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NEW Connections today (game #974) – the answers
The answers to today’s Connections, game #974, are…
- YELLOW: USED IN WEAVING FABRIC, NEEDLE, SCISSORS, YARN
- GREEN: METHOD APPROACH, MANNER, STYLE, MANNER
- BLUE: FORM OF PAYMENT FOR AN AUTHOR ADVANCE, BONUS, FEE, ROYALTY
- PURPLE: DRAW _____ CLOSE, POKER, STRAW, THE LINE
- My assessment: Easy
- My score: Perfect
I whizzed through today’s game, not knowing what the groups were, just seeing the connections between the words.
I should have seen FORM OF PAYMENT TO AN AUTHOR first as it is something I have experienced. Getting an ADVANCE is pretty exciting and feels a bit like cheating since you haven’t actually delivered anything, but that feeling wears off quickly as you start to feel the pressure to meet the deadline and get the much bigger check that follows. It’s actually a pretty good system for motivating procrastinators.
Despite speeding through, I still enjoyed the thrill of getting the four groups in difficulty, something I’ve now done 150 times according to the app. What are your Perfect Puzzle stats?
Yesterday’s NYT Connections Answers (Sunday, February 8th, Game #973)
- YELLOW: ESCAPE GAG, INHIBIT, MUSE, QUIET
- GREEN: SAME OLD STUFF DRILL, GRIND, HABIT, ROUTINE
- BLUE: FEATURES OF A STRONG PASSWORD LENGTH, NUMBER, SYMBOL, CAPITAL LETTERS
- PURPLE: WORDS AFTER “TWO” BIT, CENT, FACED, HOURS
What is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games created by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four elements that share something in common, and each group has a different degree of difficulty: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough, and purple usually very difficult.
On the plus side, you technically don’t need to solve the last one, as you’ll be able to answer it by a process of elimination. Also, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.
It’s a bit more involved than something like Wordle, though, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to let you beat yourself up with tricks. For example, watch out for homophones and other puns that can hide the answers.
It can be played for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
