To easily access our daily Connections hints, consider bookmarking this page. You can also find past hints if you’re curious about previous puzzles.

Below are some indirect hints for today’s Connections solutions. For the themes and complete answers, scroll further down the page. Take your time and only grab the hints you need!

Credit: Connections/NYT

Hints for Today’s Connections Themes

Here are some hints that won’t spoil the game but will guide you:

• Yellow category – Think about what might worry someone with stage fright.

• Green category – Similar to what you’d find in the Sahara.

• Blue category – Those lacking training may bark and pull at their leashes.

• Purple category – These can be entered using a number pad as opposed to a QWERTY keyboard.

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

The answers to today’s puzzle are about to be revealed. Proceed cautiously if you want to avoid any spoilers.

Attention to the Challenging Aspects

The terms INTRO CLASS, LECTURE, and LAB fall under different themes.

To categorize CANNABIS, think about its connection to a certain informal holiday.

A BULLY may be associated with pit bulls, but includes other breeds as well.

Categories in Today’s Connections

• Yellow: SPOKEN PRESENTATION

• Green: DESERT ATTRIBUTES

• Blue: CASUAL DOG BREEDS

• Purple: IDENTIFIED BY THREE-DIGIT NUMBERS

Final Warning: The Answers are Below

Interested in knowing the answers to today’s Connections puzzle? They are detailed below.

Yellow Category Words

The yellow set is considered the easiest, themed around SPOKEN PRESENTATION, with the words: ADDRESS, LECTURE, SPEECH, TALK.

Green Category Words

The green set is the second easiest, focusing on DESERT ATTRIBUTES, with the words: DRY, HOT, SANDY, VAST.

Blue Category Words

The blue set is the second hardest, themed around CASUAL DOG BREEDS, with the words: BULLY, CHOW, GOLDEN, LAB.

Purple Category Words

Finally, the purple set is deemed the hardest, representing numbers. The words are: CANNABIS, DEVIL, INTRO CLASS, and JAMES BOND.

Decoding Today’s Puzzle

LECTURE, LAB, and INTRO CLASS may relate to college courses, but LAB could also relate to dog breeds like GOLDEN, BULLY, and CHOW.

Address, Lecture, Talk, and Speech can indeed represent various forms of presentation. This might leave INTRO CLASS as an unusual leftover, fitting elsewhere.

Next, consider GOLDEN, BULLY, LAB, and CHOW.

Terms like SANDY, HOT, DRY, and VAST would accurately refer to desert qualities. This narrows down to CANNABIS, DEVIL, JAMES BOND, and INTRO CLASS. They can all be expressed through numbers: CANNABIS is 420, DEVIL is 666, JAMES BOND is 007, and INTRO CLASS is 101.

Connections
Puzzle #678

How to Play Connections

A comprehensive guide for Connections is available, but here’s a brief overview of the rules:

Access the Connections game via the New York Times website or their Games app. The game board consists of 16 tiles, each displaying a word or phrase. The objective is to find a group of four tiles with a common theme, which often requires recognizing types of items or engaging in wordplay.

Select your four items and click the Submit button. If correct, the category and color will emerge (with yellow being the easiest). Incorrect guesses provide another chance.

Success is achieved by identifying all four groupings correctly. However, if four mistakes occur before completion, the game concludes, revealing the answers.

Strategies for Winning Connections

The key to success in Connections is recognizing that the groupings are intentionally designed to be complex. Overlapping groups are common. For instance, a puzzle might include six breakfast items: BACON, EGG, PANCAKE, OMELET, WAFFLE, and CEREAL. Yet, BACON could be part of a category for painters, while EGG might belong with items that come by the dozen. Always verify that your chosen four consist solely of those items before submitting.

When stumped, consider focusing on words that seem disconnected from the others. If WHISTLER brings to mind a famous painting, you’re likely on the right path. This approach can lead to discovering unexpected connections among the terms.

Reading hints is another effective strategy when in doubt—check back tomorrow for more insights on the next puzzle!