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 clues.
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 #597) – today’s words
Today’s NYT Connections words are…
- DEMON
- LAUGH
- JOKER
- AIRHEAD
- CARD
- BAND
- CHESS
- DUMBBELL
- SNICKER
- CHARACTER
- MAT
- MAR
- BUMP
- MOUND
- DIAL
- BENCH
NYT Connections today (game #597) – hint #1 – group hints
What are some clues for today’s NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: Ha-ha-ha
- GREEN: Home gym
- BLUE: Sweets missing something
- PURPLE: You “need” to add this
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 #597) – hint #2 – group answers
What are the answers for today’s NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: FUNNY PERSON
- GREEN: RESISTANCE TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- BLUE: CANDY BARS MINUS “S”
- PURPLE: SPEED ___
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Connections today (game #597) – the answers
The answers to today’s Connections, game #597, are…
- YELLOW: FUNNY PERSON CARD, CHARACTER, JOKER, LAUGH
- GREEN: RESISTANCE TRAINING EQUIPMENT BAND, BENCH, DUMBBELL, MAT
- BLUE: CANDY BARS MINUS “S” AIRHEAD, MAR, MOUND, SNICKER
- PURPLE: SPEED ___ BUMP, CHESS, DEMON, DIAL
- My rating: Hard
- My score: 3 mistakes
I really struggled today and I doubt I’m alone. JOKER, CARD and CHARACTER are fine for FUNNY PERSON, but LAUGH? I wasted two mistakes on that one. I know if someone is funny, you might say they’re a good “laugh” but it still feels like a verb in a group of nouns.
Oh well, I’ll get over it!
Meanwhile, I took ages to get the CANDY BARS MINUS “S” as both MOUND(S) and AIRHEAD(S) are not available in the UK, where I’m based, and I was instead drawn to linking MOUND with BUMP. I’m pretty sure Mounds are the same as our Bounty bars, but I’m not sure if there’s a European equivalent of Airheads.
How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.
Yesterday’s NYT Connections answers (Monday, 27 January, game #596)
- YELLOW: SMALL AMOUNT OF FOOD TO TRY BITE, MOUTHFUL, SAMPLE, TASTE
- GREEN: PROTECTIVE COVERINGS IN NATURE BARK, SCALES, SHELL, SKIN
- BLUE: “EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL” EXTRA, OIL, OLIVE, VIRGIN
- PURPLE: SEEN IN “THE SHINING” AXE, HEDGE MAZE, TWINS, TYPEWRITER
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.