NYT 'Connections' Hints July 8: Clues and Answer for Game #393

Good morning to everyone starting their week with a game of Connections—Newsweek is here to make sure it engages your brain, not fries your brain.

The New York Times word puzzle, launched last summer, has become one of the paper’s most popular games—just behind Wordle, another hit word game.

The July 8 Connections game, #393, has a difficulty rating of 2.3 out of five. The rating is determined by “averaging the ratings provided by a panel of testers who are paid to solve each puzzle in advance,” the Times says.

If you’re set on solving the puzzle on your own, scroll down slowly and carefully—Newsweek is about to break down hints, tips and finally answers.

But first, a recap (or introduction if you’re new here) on how to play.

How to Play Connections

Players need to group 16 words into four categories that are linked by some kind of association. For example, Sunday’s game linked the words “condense,” “freeze,” “melt” and “vaporize” under the category “changes of matter.”

Each of the four categories has a difficulty level, with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue and finally purple, the most difficult.

It is important to keep in mind that while the concept is simple, the puzzles often use homophones and wordplay—so you have to think outside the box.

In Saturday’s game, the words “jug,” “saw,” “spoons” and “washboard” were grouped together under the category “objects played as instruments.”

The game is released at midnight in your local time zone.

Stock image of two people on their phones in Washington in 2023. Connections is the New York Times’ second-most-popular word game.

AP

Connections #393 Words for Monday, July 8

The 16 words you’re working with today are: canine, trick, spirit, ozone, often, pointer, will, visit, frequent, resolve, haunt, tip, grit, suggestion, freight and patronize.