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 Sunday puzzle instead then click here: NEW Connections Hints and Answers for Sunday, October 19 (Game #861).
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.
What are you going to do when you’re done? Why, play some more puns of course. I also have daily Strands Hints and Answers and Quordle Hints and Answers articles if you need help with those too, while Marc’s Wordle Today page covers the original viral pun.
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 #862) – word of the day
Today’s NEW Connections word is…
- K
- POP
- DEMON
- HUNTER
- COMPLEX
- SEAM
- CENTAUR
- BE
- BIG BEAR
- BUG BEAR
- UNI
- HANG UP
- LYRE
- CAPRI
NEW Connections today (game #862) – tip #1 – group tip
What are some clues for today’s NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: Troubled by something
- GREEN: In the stars
- BLUE: Chemical elements
- PURPLE: Add a word that rhymes with “torn”
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 #862) – tip #2 – group answer
What are the answers for today’s NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: PING
- GREEN: REPRESENTED BY CONSTELLATIONS
- BLUE: PERIODIC TABLE SYMBOLS
- PURPLE: ____MARN
Okay, the answers are below, so DON’T SCROLL IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NEW Connections today (game #862) – the answers
The answers to today’s Connections, game #862, are…
- YELLOW: PING BUGBEAR, COMPLEX, DEMON, HANG UP
- GREEN: REPRESENTED BY CONSTELLATIONS GREAT BEAR, CENTAUR, HUNTER, LYRE
- BLUE: PERIODIC TABLE SYMBOLS AS, BE, I, K
- PURPLE: ____MARN A, CAPRI, POP, UNI
- My rating: Hard
- My score: 1 error
It was extraordinarily tempting to connect K, POP, DEMON, and HUNTER (Connections have done groups like this before, where you think it’s too obvious), but I stopped before I took the plunge.
I surprised myself by getting the four tiles that made up AFFLICTION, but immediately thought: if it’s the yellow/easiest group, what chance do I have of getting through this round?
Seeing no connections from the remaining 12 tiles and the discard of the short words, I shuffled the tiles until something made sense. Because they all sounded vaguely mythical, I put together CENTAUR, CAPRI, LYRE and HUNTER – which gave me an error, but also a “one away”.
Not really knowing what I was doing, I took out CAPRI and replaced it with BIG BEAR. Then, in the recesses of my memory, I remembered that K (potassium) and AS (arsenic) were both symbols on the periodic table and guessed that I and BE were as well.
And so I somehow flew through this game and then kicked myself after the purple reveal. Thanks if it was all obvious to you.
Yesterday’s NEW Connections Answers (Sunday, October 19, Game #861)
- YELLOW: TOPS FALL, SPILL, TUMBLE, EXPAND
- GREEN: PARTS OF A BOWK COVER, JACKET, PAGES, RUG
- BLUE: LOSE IT, WITH “OUT” BUG, FLIP, FREAK, JUMP
- PURPLE: CHOCOLATE BARS PLUS A LETTER CRUNCHY, DOVER, MARSH, SHORT
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.
