A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Thursday, February 12 (game #977).
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 #978) - today's words
Today's NYT Connections words are…
- WAYNE
- PARLIAMENT
- STANDARD
- LESSON
- KENT
- SYNC
- SHEER
- COLORS
- STARK
- CAMEL
- BANNER
- UTTER
- RESEED
- PURE
- FLAG
- SALEM
NYT Connections today (game #978) - hint #1 - group hints
What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: Nitty gritty
- GREEN: Things to wave
- BLUE: Tobacco packets
- PURPLE: Sounds like it’s getting tiny
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 #978) - hint #2 - group answers
What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: DOWNRIGHT
- GREEN: PENNANT
- BLUE: CIGARETTE BRANDS
- PURPLE: HOMOPHONES OF WAYS TO GET SMALLER
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Connections today (game #978) - the answers
The answers to today's Connections, game #978, are…
- YELLOW: DOWNRIGHT PURE, SHEER, STARK, UTTER
- GREEN: PENNANT BANNER, COLORS, FLAG, STANDARD
- BLUE: CIGARETTE BRANDS CAMEL, KENT, PARLIAMENT, SALEM
- PURPLE: HOMOPHONES OF WAYS TO GET SMALLER LESSON, RESEED, SYNC, WAYNE
- My rating: Hard
- My score: Perfect
It possibly says something about me that I knew today’s CIGARETTE BRANDS but was utterly flummoxed by yesterday’s Baseball themed group.
Once these brands and packaging held a level of mystique and packaging – there was a whole urban myth surrounding the CAMEL packet, including the claim that it depicted a naked woman rather than a camel (you may have had to squint and do a headstand to see it).
Anyway, I digress. This was a particularly tricky set due to the blue and purple groups – while I arrived at the Green group thanks to the STARK tile triggering thoughts of the House of Stark and the multiple varieties of flags that featured in Game of Thrones.
Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Thursday, February 12, game #977)
- YELLOW: CONSTRUCT FORM, MAKE, MOLD, PRODUCE
- GREEN: FIXED IN PLACE FAST, FIRM, FROZEN, TIGHT
- BLUE: MLB PLAYER, FOR SHORT A, CARD, JAY, YANK
- PURPLE: ____ QUEEN DAIRY, DANCING, DRAG, MAY
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.
