Good morning! Let’s play Connections, the NYT’s clever word game that challenges you to group answers into different categories. It can be tricky, so read on if you need pointers.
What should you do when you’re done? Of course, play some word games. 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 word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about today’s NYT Connections is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.
NYT Connections Today (Game #560) – Today’s Words
Today’s words from NYT Connections are…
- STATISTICS
- CROWN
- ABBOTT
- ELEMENTARY
- NON
- KEY
- DOME
- ABBA
- LAURIER
- MONK
- COCONUT
- BEAUTIFUL
- SKULL
- BONES
- KAYAK
- KOJAK
NYT Connections Today (Game #560) – Hint #1 – Group Hints
What are some pointers for today’s NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: Body part jargon
- VEGETABLES: Backwards and forwards
- BLUE: Watching the detectives
- PURPLE: The other half
Need more clues?
We’re firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four themed answers are for today’s NYT Connections puzzles…
NYT Connections Today (Game #560) – Hint #2 – Group Answers
What are the answers for today’s NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: LONG FOR HEAD
- GREEN: PALINDROMES
- BLUE: POLICE PROCEDURAL
- PURPLE: FIRST IN A COMEDY DUO
Okay, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Connections Today (Game #560) – The Answers
The answers to today’s Connections game, game #560, are…
- YELLOW: LONG FOR HEAD COCONUT, CROWN, DOME, SKULL
- GREEN: PALINDROMES ABBA, KAYAK, NUN, STATISTICS
- BLUE: POLICE PROCEDURAL BONES, ELEMENTARY, KOJAK, MONK
- PURPLE: FIRST IN A COMEDY DUO ABBOTT, FRY, KEY, LAUREL
- My rating: Moderate
- My score: 1 mistake
If today’s Connections had included the words Noggin, Nut, Helmet, or Bonce, I might not have had so much trouble seeing SLANG FOR HEAD so poorly. Instead, it was PALINDROMES that struck me first – although that was mainly because I couldn’t see how Swedish pop legends ABBA could connect with anything else, unless there was an obscure Eurovision act from the 1970s called KOJAK, which was very is quite possible.
According to Wikipedia, the longest palindrome in regular use is the 19-letter Finnish word saippuakivikauppias (soapstone seller).
Wikipedia also points us to some palindromic sentences, including “A man, a plan, a canal, Panama,” to which you could probably add “a KAYAK” (or a saippuakivikauppias), and the eternal question “Do geese see god?” ”
Yesterday’s NYT Connections answers (Saturday, December 21, game #559)
- YELLOW: LOOP BAND, CIRCLE, HOOP, RING
- GREEN: COOKING VESSELS Frying pan, Frying pan, PAN, POT
- BLUE: TYPES OF BEDS BUNK, AWNING, MURPHY, SLAY
- PURPLE: THINGS CALLED ‘OSCAR’ BALONEY, NUT, OH, FIGURINE
What is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections is one of the New York Times’ increasingly popular word games. It challenges you to find groups of four items that have something in common, and each group has a different level of difficulty: green is easy, yellow is a little harder, blue is often quite tough, and purple is usually very difficult.
On the plus side, you technically don’t have to solve the last question because you can answer it by a process of elimination. Plus, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you some breathing room.
It’s a bit more complicated than something like Wordle, though, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For example, beware of homophones and other word games that can obscure the answers.
It is playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.