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Connections is a game from the New York Times that challenges you to find the association between words. It sounds easy, but it isn’t—Connections categories can be almost anything, and they’re usually quite specific. If you need a hand getting the answers, we’ve got you covered.
What Is Connections?
Connections is a game from the New York Times. The objective is simple: sort 16 words into groups of 4. Each group of words will be connected by some common idea or theme. That common element could be anything. We have seen everything from games that rely on the number of letters in the words to categories that require you to spot an extra letter at the end of the word. Sometimes they’re references to economics, other times they reference fairy tales. There is no telling what sort of association there will be between words.
Once you’re confident you understand the connection, select 4 words, then hit “Submit.” You have only four attempts in total, so don’t be too guess-happy.
Hints for Today’s Connections Groups
Here are a few hints for the 424th Connections game to get you started:
Horror, Jock, Value, Wave
How Did We Solve This Connections Game?
August 9th wasn’t too bad, but I did have to shuffle a bit more than usual to get the answers.
The first group I spotted was Blue, “Rock Genres.” Glam, goth, metal, and punk? There was simply nothing else for it!
I shuffled the words around and started with the word absent next, since it really only means “not present in a place, at an occasion, or as part of something.” Elsewhere, gone, and MIA (an initialism for missing in action) seemed to fit the same idea, so I threw them together. They were in the Yellow group, “Not Present.”
I shuffled a few more times, then advocate and champion landed together. Those words are both used when you endorse an idea and want it to succeed. With that in mind, cheerleader and exponent were really the only words remaining that could possibly fit. Exponent felt odd, though, since I’m much more familiar with it in the math context. They were in the Green group, “Supporter.”
That left horror, jock, value, and wave in the Purple group. Try as I might, I couldn’t really find any connection or word that made the group work. It turned out that the group was “Shock ______,” making the terms in Purple horror shock, shock jock, shock value, and shock wave.
How Do You Guess Connections Groups?
There is no quick, reliable way to approach Connections like there is with Wordle, since Connections isn’t algorithmic. However, there are a few things to keep in mind that can help.
If you didn’t solve this one, don’t feel too bad—there’s always tomorrow! And those words may align with a topic you’re interested in, giving you a leg up on the competition.
