What better way is there to start the week than by solving today's NYT Connections? Well, assuming you can solve it, because today's puzzle might well challenge you. But never fear – I've got some hints for you below.
What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Wordle hints and answers, Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too.
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 #358) - today's words
Today's NYT Connections words are…
- SCHOOL
- SPOOL
- WAX
- SOLAR PANEL
- MOVIE
- THREAD
- HONEYCOMB
- WIND
- LASER
- BALL
- WRAP
- VITAMIN
- COIL
- SPREADSHEET
- ORGANISM
- PLUCK
NYT Connections today (game #358) - hint #1 - group hints
What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?
- Yellow: Shaving would be another answer
- Green: …and shout?
- Blue: Inside a prison building
- Purple: Second letter
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 #358) - hint #2 - group answers
What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: REMOVE, AS BODY HAIR
- GREEN: TWIST AROUND
- BLUE: THINGS MADE OF CELLS
- PURPLE: B-___
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Connections today (game #358) - the answers
The answers to today's Connections, game #358, are…
- YELLOW: REMOVE, AS BODY HAIR LASER, PLUCK, THREAD, WAX
- GREEN: TWIST AROUND COIL, SPOOL, WIND, WRAP
- BLUE: THINGS MADE OF CELLS HONEYCOMB, ORGANISM, SOLAR PANEL, SPREADSHEET
- PURPLE: B-___ BALL, MOVIE, SCHOOL, VITAMIN
- My rating: Moderate
- My score: Perfect
This was mean of the NYT to give us a difficult Connections puzzle on a Monday morning. Come on, Monday is when the brain is at its least creative – it should save the tough ones for a weekend, when we have loads of time and energy.
The first one I solved wasn't too bad at least. SPOOL is not a word that's used in many contexts, so once I spotted WIND, WRAP and COIL I was relatively sure it was an answer – although the presence of THREAD did nearly send me off on a sewing machine-related dead end.
After that, I was a little stuck. OK, a lot stuck. I simply couldn't think of anything that united the remaining 12 words. Or rather – I could, but only for a couple of them. WAX and HONEYCOMB could suggest 'bees', for instance. Or could ORGANISM and SOLAR PANEL both be related to needing sunlight?
Eventually, I focused on SPREADSHEET, both because I love a good spreadsheet and also because it was probably the most specific word in there. How many things are there that you can say about a spreadsheet? I went through a few in my head, then realized that 'cell' is also something in a HONEYCOMB. SOLAR PANEL and ORGANISM were added to complete the blue set.
That made the task easier, because the remaining eight answers more readily assembled themselves into one group of four that had something to do with hair removal – the yellow set – and one group of four that I couldn't think of a connection between (purple, inevitably). I played the first set and solved that one, leaving me with one more that I nearly solved independently. I got the B- aspect for MOVIE, BALL and VITAMIN, but I have never heard the phrase B-SCHOOL, so I probably wouldn't have solved this one if it hadn't been by default.
How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.
Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Sunday, 2 June, game #357)
- YELLOW: CONFORMISTS FOLLOWERS, LEMMINGS, PUPPETS, SHEEP
- GREEN: COMPANY OWNERSHIP OFFERS EQUITY, OPTIONS, SHARES, STOCKS
- BLUE: U.S. CITIES BILLINGS, BUFFALO, MOBILE, PHOENIX
- PURPLE: WHAT “DIGS” MIGHT MEAN APARTMENT, INSULTS, LIKES, SHOVELS
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.
