To easily revisit our daily hints for Connections, bookmark this page. Past hints are also available there if you want to catch up on any previous puzzles you might have missed.

Below, you’ll find subtle clues leading to today’s Connections answers. Further down, the themes and answers will be disclosed, so take your time scrolling and retain just the hints you require!

Hints for Today’s Connections Puzzle Themes

Here are hints for today’s group themes without revealing too much:

• Yellow category – Found at the edges, not the middle.

• Green category – Actions involving your fingers.

• Blue category – They induce similar physical responses, albeit for various reasons.

• Purple category – These are activities typically played on a court or field.

WARNING: Spoilers Ahead for Today’s Connections!

Answers are about to be disclosed. Proceed with caution if you wish to avoid spoilers. (The complete solutions lie further down.)

Notes on the Difficult Aspects

The terms KICK and BITE are unrelated.

When slicing an ONION, goggles might be handy to ward off tearing up.

PAINT in this context refers to the type available in miniature containers, commonly found in beauty salons.

FRINGE here relates to a fringe political movement or a decorative BORDER, rather than a hairstyle.

Categories for Today’s Connections Puzzle

• Yellow: PERIPHERY

• Green: ACTIONS PEOPLE PERFORM ON FINGERNAILS

• Blue: TRIGGERS FOR TEARS

• Purple: ___ BALL RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES

DOUBLE WARNING: SOLUTIONS BELOW

Ready to uncover today’s Connections answers? They are revealed below.

Yellow Category Entries

The yellow category is the most straightforward, as it centers around the theme of PERIPHERY, including the words: BORDER, EDGE, FRINGE, SKIRT.

Green Category Entries

The green category holds the second-easiest theme, focusing on ACTIONS PEOPLE PERFORM ON FINGERNAILS, which includes: BITE, CLIP, FILE, PAINT.

Blue Category Entries

Blue is deemed the second-hardest with the theme of TRIGGERS FOR TEARS, containing the words: ALLERGY, MELODRAMA, ONION, RELIEF.

Purple Category Entries

The purple group is recognized as the most challenging. Its theme revolves around ___ BALL RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES, with words being: DODGE, KICK, PICKLE, SOFT.

Playing Connections

While a comprehensive guide for playing Connections is available, here’s a quick reminder of the rules:

Access the Connections game either via the New York Times website or within their Games app (formerly known as the Crossword app). You will encounter a game board showcasing 16 tiles, each representing a word or phrase. Your objective is to select four tiles that share a common link. Often, these represent similar items (for example: RAIN, SLEET, HAIL, and SNOW are all wet weather types), or the connection can be based on wordplay (for example: BUCKET, GUEST, TOP TEN, and WISH form a list theme).

Choose four options and press the Submit button. If your selection is correct, the category and color will become visible. (Yellow indicates the easiest category, followed by green, blue, and purple.) If incorrect, you are given another chance to guess.

Winning occurs when all four groups are identified accurately. However, if four errors are made before completion, the game concludes and the answers are shown.

Tips for Winning Connections

To excel in Connections, understanding that the groupings can be complex is vital. Overlapping categories are commonplace. For instance, one puzzle included six breakfast foods: BACON, EGG, PANCAKE, OMELET, WAFFLE, and CEREAL. Yet, BACON belonged to a group of artists alongside CLOSE, MUNCH, and WHISTLER, while EGG was part of a dozen-themed group (including JUROR, ROSE, and MONTH). Therefore, refrain from hitting “submit” until you confirm that your quartet features only those four terms.

If facing challenges, examine words that appear to have no correlation with others. For instance, seeing WHISTLER might prompt thoughts about the painting known as “Whistler’s Mother,” indicating a potential direction. Upon solving that, checking for a painter named Close became pivotal, as Close did not correlate with obvious themes either.

Another effective strategy, particularly when struggling, is to seek out hints, a service provided daily. Be sure to return tomorrow for the next puzzle!