Good morning! Let’s play Connections, the NYT’s clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.
What should you do once you’ve finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I’ve also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc’s Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.
NYT Connections today (game #857) – today’s words
Today’s NYT Connections words are…
- KIDNEY
- GOLF
- GREAT
- BRONCO
- PINTO
- VACUUM
- KIDDIE
- LIMA
- NAVY
- OLYMPIC
- ELEPHANT
- FIESTA
- INFINITY
- BRAVO
- MUSTANG
- DELTA
NYT Connections today (game #857) – hint #1 – group hints
What are some clues for today’s NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: Swim in these
- GREEN: Spell out letters
- BLUE: All same car brand
- PURPLE: Add a word that rhymes with “meal”
Need more clues?
We’re firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today’s NYT Connections puzzles…
NYT Connections today (game #857) – hint #2 – group answers
What are the answers for today’s NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: TYPES OF POOLS
- GREEN: IN THE NATO PHONETIC ALPHABET
- BLUE: FORD MODELS
- PURPLE: ___ SEAL
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Connections today (game #857) – the answers
The answers to today’s Connections, game #857, are…
- YELLOW: TYPES OF POOLS INFINITY, KIDDIE, KIDNEY, OLYMPIC
- GREEN: IN THE NATO PHONETIC ALPHABET BRAVO, DELTA, GOLF, LIMA
- BLUE: FORD MODELS BRONCO, FIESTA, MUSTANG, PINTO
- PURPLE: ___ SEAL ELEPHANT, GREAT, NAVY, VACUUM
- My rating: Easy
- My score: Perfect
KIDNEY, NAVY and PINTO have all appeared in Connections before in a beans category and for a while I thought I was looking for a repeat – something beans are infamous for. But I digress. Instead, I added LIMA to the mix.
Alas, no beanie connections this time around. Then I remembered LIMA’s place IN THE NATO PHOENETIC ALPHABET alongside BRAVO, DELTA and GOLF.
I can never remember all the words and more often than not will come up with some random alternatives when I’m forced to spell out my name. Instead of LIMA I’d probably go for Llama or Liverpool.
Yesterday’s NYT Connections answers (Tuesday, October 14, game #856)
- YELLOW: CAPTIVATE ABSORB, ENGAGE, HOLD, OCCUPY
- GREEN: SUMMARY BRIEF, DIGEST, OUTLINE, REVIEW
- BLUE: HALT CHECK, CURB, STAUNCH, STEM
- PURPLE: ANIMALS MINUS STARTING LETTER ANTHER, EASEL, HARK, LAMA
What is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.
On the plus side, you don’t technically need to solve the final one, as you’ll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What’s more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.
It’s a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.
It’s playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
