To make returning to our daily Connections hints easier, bookmark this page. It also contains links to previous hints, which can come in handy if you’re curious about any past puzzles.

This section will provide subtle hints about today’s Connections answers. As you scroll down, the themes and answers will be revealed—take your time and extract only the assistance you require!

Thematic Hints for Today’s Connections Puzzle

Here are some spoiler-free hints for identifying the groupings in today’s Connections:

• Yellow category – Unauthentic.
• Green category – Always check the label before making your choice from these.
• Blue category – Slang typically associated with a certain laid-back duo’s time-traveling antics.
• Purple category – A popular term to describe an item you’ll definitely need when relocating.

Warning: Spoilers Ahead for Today’s Connections Puzzle!

What follows are some answer reveals. Proceed with caution if you wish to avoid seeing the complete solution. (The full answers are found further down the page.)

Navigating the Tricky Elements

Keep in mind that MOCK relates to imitation—it usually precedes another word (like “duck” or “turtleneck”) indicating a replica.

FAKE, JUKE, and SPIN are not typical moves seen in football or basketball.

DELICATE might come in handy when dealing with laundry settings for expensive garments.

Familiarity with Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure or the lingo from the ‘80s would ease your understanding of today’s blue category.

Categories in Today’s Connections

• Yellow: FAUX
• Green: WASHING MACHINE CYCLES/SETTINGS
• Blue: PHRASES COMMONLY USED IN THE “BILL AND TED” MOVIES
• Purple: ___ BOX

Double Warning: Solutions are Listed Below

Are you ready to discover today’s Connections solutions? All the answers are available below.

Yellow Words in Today’s Connections

The yellow category is deemed the simplest. Its theme revolves around FAUX, including the words: ARTIFICIAL, FAKE, IMITATION, MOCK.

Green Words in Today’s Connections

The green grouping is considered the next easiest. The theme here centers on WASHING MACHINE CYCLES/SETTINGS, comprising: BULKY, COTTON, DELICATE, SPIN.

Blue Words in Today’s Connections

Blue is classified as the second most challenging. This category’s theme is phrases common in the “BILL AND TED” films, featuring: BOGUS, DUDE, EXCELLENT, TOTALLY.

Purple Words in Today’s Connections

The purple grouping is seen as the toughest. The theme revolves around ___ BOX, with words including: CHATTER, JUKE, SHADOW, SOAP.

Approach to Solving Today’s Connections

SPIN, JUKE, and FAKE may relate to dodging maneuvers in sports.

Meanwhile, words like EXCELLENT, TOTALLY, BOGUS, and DUDE echo retro slang.

BOGUS also connects with themes of FAKE, MOCK, IMITATION, and ARTIFICIAL. Starting with that group seems sensible, given that they fit the “false” category.

Initially, let’s experiment with EXCELLENT, TOTALLY, BOGUS, and DUDE. 🟦 The moment those words appeared, thoughts of Bill and Ted came to mind, which perfectly aligns with the intended category.

Next up are FAKE, MOCK, IMITATION, and ARTIFICIAL. 🟨

Notably, CHATTER and SHADOW could both cleverly fit in with the term “box”—a CHATTERbox describes a gregarious person, while SHADOW boxing implies sparring against an unseen opponent. Additionally, a SOAP box is something someone might use to gain visibility while sharing their opinions. Lastly, JUKEbox refers to a music-playing device. 🟪

This analysis leaves DELICATE, SPIN, COTTON, and BULKY, which refer to the settings on a washing machine. 🟩

Connections
Puzzle #636
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟪🟪🟪🟪
🟩🟩🟩🟩

Guide to Playing Connections

A detailed Connections gameplay guide is available, but here’s a quick overview of the rules:

Locate the Connections game either on the New York Times website or within their Games app (formerly the Crossword app). The game board has 16 tiles, each featuring a single word or phrase. Your task is to identify a set of four tiles sharing a common theme. They often belong to the same category (for instance: RAIN, SLEET, HAIL, and SNOW are all types of precipitation), but occasional wordplay may be involved (for example, BUCKET, GUEST, TOP TEN, and WISH all represent types of lists: bucket list, guest list, etc.).

Choose four items and press the Submit button. A correct guess uncovers the category and color. (Yellow indicates the easiest, progressing to green, blue, and finally purple.) If the guess is incorrect, retrying is permitted.

The objective is to identify all four groupings accurately. If you make four errors before completing the game, it will conclude and the answers will be shown.

Strategies for Winning Connections

To excel at Connections, the key takeaway is that the groupings will challenge you. Anticipate overlapping sets. For instance, a previous puzzle incorporated six breakfast items: BACON, EGG, PANCAKE, OMELET, WAFFLE, and CEREAL. However, BACON ended up being part of a group of artists alongside CLOSE, MUNCH, and WHISTLER, while EGG fell into a separate grouping of items found by the dozen (like JUROR, ROSE, and MONTH). Therefore, it’s advisable to refrain from hitting “submit” until your grouping of four is confirmed to contain only those four items.

If you find yourself stuck, consider investigating the words that seem the least connected to the others. For example, if WHISTLER makes you think of the well-known painting titled “Whistler’s Mother,” this could be a clue. In one instance, resolving that puzzle led to an online search regarding a painter named Close, as he also seemed disconnected from the primary themes.

To enhance your chances of success when you’re feeling stuck, seeking out a few helpful hints is ideal—this is why these insights are provided daily. Be sure to come back tomorrow for the next puzzle!