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 #564) – Today’s Words
Today’s words from NYT Connections are…
- CORRECTLY
- ALA
- HANDSOME
- ELDER
- FIR
- LIKE IT
- PINE
- MISS
- HEALTHY
- ROUGH
- ARK
- PALM
- ABOUT
- RESPECTABLE
- ORE
- AROUND
NYT Connections Today (Game #564) – Hint #1 – Group Hints
What are some pointers for current NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: Generally similar
- VEGETABLES: Evergreen plants
- BLUE: A decent portion
- PURPLE: Four out of 50
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 #564) – Hint #2 – Group Answers
What are the answers for today’s NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: APPROXIMATELY
- GREEN: TREES
- BLUE: LARGE, AS AMOUNT
- PURPLE: US STATE ABBREVIATIONS, ACCORDING TO AP STYLE GUIDE
Okay, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Connections Today (Game #564) – The Answers
The answers to today’s Connections game #564 are…
- YELLOW: APPROXIMATELY APPROXIMATE, ROUND, LIKE, ROUGH
- GREEN: TREES PARENT, PALM, PINE, FIR
- BLUE: LARGE, AS AMOUNT Handsome, healthy, respectable, neat
- PURPLE: US STATE ABBREVIATIONS, ACCORDING TO AP STYLE GUIDE ALA, ARK, MISS, ORE
- My rating: Moderate
- My score: 2 mistakes
I wasted my time today thinking that HANDSOME, HEALTHY and SPRUCE were somehow connected – I imagined a shaving gel commercial in which a muscular man with a chiseled jaw was admiring himself in the mirror and thinking how, uh, ARK he is. Sometimes if you can’t find the fourth word there’s a good reason.
After seeing the tree link, I finally ended up there – although those state abbreviations were far from obvious and I would never have gotten them if it weren’t the final Purple four. We still click on those last four words like we always knew, right? Yes, yes US state abbreviations, PER AP STYLE GUIDE, yes, yes, I knew that.
Yesterday’s NYT Connections answers (Wednesday, December 25, game #563)
- YELLOW: CELESTIAL OBJECTS COMET, MOON, PLANET, STAR
- GREEN: ARCH CUPID, HAWKEYE, ROBIN HOOD, SAGITTARIUS
- BLUE: FEMALE ANIMALS JENNY, NANNY, QUEEN, VIXEN
- PURPLE: “SNL” CAST MEMBERS FEY, RUDOLPH, SHANNON, STRONG
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.