The New York Times’ daily Connections puzzle challenges players to group sixteen words into four categories of four, based on shared themes. Today’s puzzle (#932) proved particularly tricky, with a challenging purple category that often requires lateral thinking. Here’s a breakdown of the solution, from the most straightforward groupings to the head-scratching one.
Decoding the Groups: Hints and Answers
The puzzle’s difficulty varies, with some categories being more obvious than others. The Times provides a “Connections Bot” for players who want to analyze their performance—tracking scores, win rates, and streaks. But for those seeking immediate answers, here’s how today’s puzzle breaks down.
Yellow Category: Inclination and Flow
The yellow category revolved around the concept of tendency. The four words—course, direction, tide, and trend —all represent a leaning, movement, or general progression. This grouping is the easiest to identify, as the words share a clear semantic link.
Green Category: Foundations of Life
The green group focused on core elements of biology: cell, gene, protein, and tissue. These are fundamental building blocks of living organisms, making the connection relatively accessible to anyone with basic scientific knowledge.
Blue Category: The Games We Watch
The blue category featured Summer Olympic events: athletics, equestrian, swimming, and triathlon. All four represent distinct disciplines contested in the Olympic Games, making this group moderately straightforward.
Purple Category: Automotive Puns
The purple category proved the most difficult. It required recognizing car brand homophones : infinity (Infiniti), Minnie (Mini), Opal (Opel), and Outie (Audi). This grouping relies on a punny twist, where the words sound like the names of automotive brands.
The Takeaway: Why These Puzzles Matter
Connections isn’t just a word game; it’s a test of associative thinking and pattern recognition. The puzzle’s design encourages players to explore connections beyond surface-level meanings—especially in the notoriously challenging purple categories. The game’s popularity highlights a growing appetite for mental stimulation, as evidenced by the Times’ own tracking tools for dedicated players. The success of Connections alongside other daily puzzles (Wordle, Mini Crossword) suggests that quick, engaging cognitive challenges remain highly appealing in the digital age.
