The New York Times’ daily Connections puzzle challenges players to identify four groups of four words, each linked by a common theme. Today’s puzzle (#947) includes a particularly tricky purple category hidden within longer terms. Here’s a breakdown of the clues and answers, along with insights into the game’s growing popularity.
Puzzle Breakdown and Difficulty
Connections has gained traction alongside other NYT Games like Wordle and Strands, attracting a dedicated fanbase. The Times now offers a “Connections Bot” to track player performance, including win rates and streaks. This data-driven approach reflects a broader trend of gamified engagement in digital media.
Hints for Each Group
The puzzle is categorized into yellow (easiest), green, blue, and purple (hardest) groups. The hints are:
- Yellow: Related to gift-giving.
- Green: Actions involving physical contact.
- Blue: Iconic items from a famous board game.
- Purple: Body parts combined with an initial letter.
Today’s Solutions
Here are the answers to today’s Connections puzzle:
- Yellow Group: Bow, Card, Gift Wrap, Ribbon. These are all common additions to presents.
- Green Group: Elbow, Press, Shoulder, Shove. These are all ways of physically jostling someone.
- Blue Group: Bowtie, Cane, Moneybag, Top Hat. These are all accessories associated with the Monopoly mascot, Mr. Monopoly.
- Purple Group: Otoe (toe), Parch (arch), Rankle (ankle), Wheel (heel). This group combines parts of the foot with an initial letter.
Previous Tough Puzzles
The Connections puzzle sometimes features unexpected or obscure groupings. Some of the most difficult past puzzles have included:
- #5: Items you can “set,” such as mood, record, table, and volleyball.
- #4: Things that appear “one in a dozen,” such as egg, juror, month, and rose.
- #3: Streets featured in popular media: Elm, Fear, Jump, and Sesame.
The puzzle’s difficulty varies, but consistently tests players’ pattern recognition skills. The trend towards increasingly challenging puzzles suggests the game is designed to maintain long-term engagement by rewarding players who invest time in understanding its logic.
