Looking for a different day?
A new NEW Connections puzzle pops up at midnight every day for your time zone – meaning some people are always playing “today’s game” while others are playing “yesterday’s”. If you’re looking for the Monday puzzle instead then click here: NEW Connections Hints and Answers for Monday, February 23rd (Game #988).
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 #989) – word of the day
Today’s NEW Connections word is…
- COWARD
- LASER
- SCOTTIE
- BONES
- JIM
- CORAL
- BALANCE
- CHEKHOV
- THISTLE
- SHAW
- SHELLS
- TRACTOR
- TARTAN
- TEETH
- MILLER
- BREAD PEPPER
NEW Connections today (game #989) – tip #1 – group tip
What are some clues for today’s NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: Formed from common white mineral
- GREEN: Icons of kilt-wearing nation
- BLUE: Dramatists of note
- PURPLE: Add a word that rhymes with “schema”
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 #989) – tip #2 – group answer
What are the answers for today’s NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: CALCIUM BASED STRUCTURES
- GREEN: SYMBOLS OF SCOTLAND
- BLUE: FAMOUS PLAYMAKERS
- PURPLE: _____ BEAM
Okay, the answers are below, so DON’T SCROLL IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NEW Connections today (game #989) – the answers
The answers to today’s Connections, game #989, are…
- YELLOW: CALCIUM BASED STRUCTURES BONES, CORAL, SHELLS, TEETH
- GREEN: SYMBOLS OF SCOTLAND BAG PIPE, SCOTTIE, TARTAN, THISTLE
- BLUE: FAMOUS PLAYMAKERS CHEKHOV, COWARD, MILLER, SHAW
- PURPLE: _____ BEAM BALANCE, JIM, LASER, TRACTOR
- My assessment: Hard
- My score: 1 error
I was once at an event at the Jack Daniel’s distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee and asked the bartender for a double JIM BEAM. The bartender fixed me with a wicked look and told me “we don’t say that name around here”, leaving me in no doubt that I had crossed a line.
Despite my fondness for Jim’s bourbon, I still couldn’t see today’s purple group, and I also wondered about my attempt to complete the FAMOUS PLAYWRIGHTS, foolishly substituting THISTLE for COWARD.
This error led me to the significantly more obvious SYMBOLS OF SCOTLAND, which, like yesterday’s conical shape group – which included a “cone” tile – contained the word SCOTTIE after the eponymous dogs, all to help create a ghost group of classic Star Trek characters (JIM, CHECKHOV, BONES) that I luckily didn’t see until the game was over.
Yesterday’s NEW Connections Answer (Monday, February 23, Game #988)
- PURPLE: SETTINGS FOR A KISS BLARNEY STONE, MISTLETOE, NEW YEAR’S EVE, WEDDING
- BLUE: POSING BLUFF, FRONT, MASQUERADE, POSTURE
- YELLOW: EAT GOUT BOLT, GAP, INHALATION, TOWEL
- GREEN: TAPERED THINGS CHRISTMAS TREE, CONE, PARTY HAT, VOLCANO
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.
