Struggling to find the answers to today’s Connections puzzle? Newsweek is here to help with our daily collection of hints.
It may only have launched in summer 2023, but Connections is already The New York Times second-most popular word puzzle game, right behind the viral lockdown sensation Wordle.
Still, just because Connections is addictive, that doesn’t mean it is easy. The game challenges players to group 16 words into four categories based on association.
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For example, Monday’s puzzle grouped the words “cross,” “short,” “surly” and “testy” under the category “in a bad mood,” while Sunday’s game coupled “business,” “field,” “line” and “trade” together as “professions.”
Each Connections category is named after a color, which also signifies how difficult it is. Yellow is the easiest category, followed by green, then blue and purple.
If you are struggling to see a link between some of the words, Connections editor Wyna Liu suggests trying to solve a different category first to narrow down the selection.
“Doing so might take one of those extra cards out of contention, or at least remove a few cards from the board, making other categories easier to see,” she said.
This approach also helps sidestep “item overlap,” when one word can fit into multiple categories—a trick Connections uses to test players. You can also press the “shuffle” button, which shakes up the board and can sometimes make the association between words more obvious.
Liu also told Newsweek that players should “wait as long as possible” to guess, because “your four guesses go by extremely quickly.”
“Don’t do what I do which is ‘rage solve’,” she said in June.
If you still need a hand with today’s Connections puzzle, Newsweek has gathered a few clues to help you out.
‘Connections’ #402 Clues for Wednesday, July 17
Here are some hints to help you find today’s Connections categories.
Yellow: Commonly found in your local area.
Green: Always in the way.
Blue: Related to the Animal Kingdom.
Purple: These words have very presidential beginnings.
‘Connections’ #402 Answers for Wednesday, July 17
Yellow Category: BUILDINGS AROUND TOWN
Yellow Words: Laundromat, Bank, Post Office, Supermarket
Green Category: HINDER
Green Words: Check, Hamper, Curb, Inhibit
Blue Category: ANIMAL GROUP NAMES
Blue Words: Pride, Pack, Swarm, School
Purple Category: STARTS OF U.S. PRESIDENTS’ NAMES
Purple Words: Cart, Nix, Washing, Bide.
How many did you get right? Don’t worry if you found today’s categories difficult; you can always try again when Connections resets at midnight in your timezone.
Meanwhile, we have also put together a few hints for today’s Wordle. Or, why not give these other popular online word games a try?
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.