Unlocking Today’s NYT Connections Game (December 31, 2024)
Searching for the answer to the Connections puzzle for December 31, 2024? This post offers tips, strategies, and ultimately reveals the solutions to each category. Throughout, I’ll clarify any ambiguous terms so you can understand the connections. Warning: Spoilers for NYT Connections #569 are included below! Proceed if you’re ready for some hints—and the final answers—related to today’s puzzle.
To easily access our daily hints for Connections, don’t forget to bookmark this page. Previous hints are also available here if you’re curious about past puzzles.
Below are subtle hints pertaining to today’s Connections answers, followed by the themes and answers further down. Take your time and only grab the clues you need!
Clues for Themes in Today’s Connections Puzzle
Here are spoiler-free hints for the themes you’ll encounter today:
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Yellow category – Actions involving speed.
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Green category – Terms related to fun experiences.
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Blue category – Terms commonly found at the start of a letter or on an envelope.
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Purple category – A fill-in-the-blank link with a term meaning “label” or “nickname.”
WARNING: Spoilers Ahead for Today’s Connections Puzzle!
Details of some answers will be disclosed shortly. Proceed with caution if you want to avoid spoilers. (The complete solution is located further down.)
Heads-Up About Some Tricky Aspects
The term BALL is used in the phrase “we had a BALL.”
DART functions as a verb in this context.
There aren’t any culturally relevant categories or complex homophones to navigate today.
Categories Featured in Today’s Connections
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Yellow: MOVE QUICKLY
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Green: FUN TIME
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Blue: WORDS FOUND AT THE START OF AN ADDRESS
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Purple: NAME ___
DOUBLE WARNING: THE SOLUTIONS ARE REVEALED BELOW
Ready to discover the answers to the Connections puzzle today? They are disclosed below.
What Words are Included in the Yellow Category?
The yellow grouping is typically seen as the easiest. The theme for the yellow group today is MOVE QUICKLY, comprising the words: BOLT, DART, DASH, FLY.
What Words are Included in the Green Group?
The green grouping is identified as the second-easiest. The theme here is FUN TIME, with the words: BALL, BLAST, KICK, THRILL.
What About the Words in the Blue Category?
The blue category is recognized as the second-hardest. Its theme revolves around WORDS FOUND AT THE START OF AN ADDRESS, including: ATTENTION, DEAR, FOR, TO.
And What About the Purple Words?
Purple is considered the most challenging group. The theme for this category is NAME ___, containing the words: BRAND, DROP, GAME, NAMES.
Solving Today’s Connections
The items DART, BOLT, FLY, and DASH are closely related, describing actions of speed. 
The terms DEAR, FOR, TO, and ATTENTION are all elements used to address letters or parcels. 
DROP, KICK, and BLAST can connect to the word “off,” although a fourth member doesn’t quite fit—with BRAND being applicable in context but not to the same phrase. Testing more combinations seemed necessary. 
Next, THRILL, KICK, BALL, and BLAST evoke feelings of excitement. Let’s keep those in mind.
What remains is DROP, BRAND, NAMES, and GAME. This prompted thoughts like GAME time, video GAME, brand NAME, and nickNAMES, alongside a few others. Eventually, the connection emerged: game NAME, brand NAME, name DROP, and name NAMES all linked together. 
Connections Puzzle #569
Playing Connections: A Brief Guide
A comprehensive guide to playing Connections is available, but here’s a quick overview of the rules:
Access the Connections game either via the New York Times website or through their Games app. You’ll see a grid consisting of 16 tiles, each displaying a word or phrase. Your task is to identify four squares that share a commonality. They might share a category (for example: RAIN, SLEET, HAIL, and SNOW are all types of precipitation) or might involve language play (like BUCKET, GUEST, TOP TEN, and WISH aligning as different kinds of lists: bucket list, guest list, etc.).
Choose your four words and hit Submit. A correct guess will reveal the category and its corresponding color (yellow being the simplest, transitioning to green, blue, and finally purple). An incorrect attempt allows for another chance.
The goal is to identify all four groups accurately. However, making four wrong guesses before completion results in the game concluding and revealing the answers.
Tips for Winning Connections
The key to winning Connections lies in recognizing that the categories are cleverly crafted to challenge players. Expect to encounter overlapping groups. For instance, one puzzle included breakfast items like BACON, EGG, PANCAKE, OMELET, WAFFLE, and CEREAL; however, BACON was part of a category associated with painters along with CLOSE, MUNCH, and WHISTLER, while EGG fit into a category of items that are typically sold by the dozen, with JUROR, ROSE, and MONTH included.
If getting stuck, consider assessing the words that appear unrelated to others; identifying these can lead to breakthroughs. For example, if WHISTLER reminds one of the famous painting “Whistler’s Mother,” it might indicate a unique connection that you can explore further. In previous instances, the search for an artist named Close led to interesting discoveries.
Reading hints can also be advantageous when feeling lost, which is why daily guidance is provided. Check back tomorrow for the next puzzle!
