Today’s word-game hints, updated daily

Puzzle archive

Connections hints and answers by date

Open the exact puzzle you played. Current-day dated URLs lead to the permanent daily guide and return as archives after rollover.

Puzzle #1175The verified color order runs from yellow through purple; the group descriptions provide a neutral tier-by-tier progression. · Several board words can suggest broad everyday themes, so test whether a proposed set leaves the exact official four-word category incomplete.Puzzle #1173The verified color order is yellow, green, blue, purple, and each group keeps its source tier. · A player-facing false start is PIKACHU, MISTY, BROCK and NEMO: their official labels are yellow, green, purple and purple, so only three source-group labels appear and the set cannot complete one source category.Puzzle #1172The verified color order runs from yellow to green to blue to purple; the group descriptions follow that order without adding claims about familiarity. · Several entries can suggest familiar phrases or meanings, so test a complete four-word category against the official labels before committing.Puzzle #1171The verified sequence runs from yellow SURFACE-LEVEL through green SCI-FI PHENOMENA and blue STEPHEN KING FILM ADAPTATIONS, WITH "THE" to purple ENDING IN ICE CREAM ORDERS. · Several entries work as ordinary phrases or titles, so a player may focus on their full meanings before checking the exact final word in each purple entry.Puzzle #1170Four neutral color tiers: yellow, green, blue, and purple in the supplied group order. · Some entries may invite a reading outside the printed category; treat that as a player-facing observation and return to a complete official set.Puzzle #1169The verified order moves from yellow through green and blue to purple; use that sequence as a neutral guide to the intended progression. · BAKING SODA and CLUB SODA form a visible two-word SODA pair, but no other two board entries complete a four-word SODA set. Both ultimately belong to HOUSEHOLD STAIN REMOVERS.Puzzle #1168The verified color order moves from yellow to purple, with the final group requiring a phrase-completion reading. · Several board words can suggest water, taste, entertainment or general objects, so test the exact category wording before committing.Puzzle #1167The verified order moves from yellow through green and blue to purple, with phrase completion reserved for the final group. · Several entries can be read as ordinary nouns or titles. Check whether a proposed relationship covers all four words in exactly the same way.Puzzle #1166The verified color order places the pizza group first, followed by numbers, typographical marks, and the Chinese-zodiac openings. · Several entries invite readings outside their official category: marks can have distinct roles, while the final four words must be examined by their openings rather than their complete meanings.Puzzle #1165The groups follow the verified yellow, green, blue and purple order. · Several short words invite compounds or alternate meanings, so test every proposed relationship against all four entries before submitting.Puzzle #1164The board progresses from the yellow category through the purple category in the verified color order. · FILM NOIR may appear compatible with PAPARAZZI, RED CARPET, and LIMOUSINE as movie-related language. However, the latter three belong with VELVET ROPE in SEEN AT A MOVIE PREMIERE, while FILM NOIR belongs in THINGS THAT ARE GRITTY.Puzzle #1163The official sequence runs from yellow through purple, with a direct platform set first, spreadsheet terminology second, first names third, and a word-opening pattern fourth. · PATSY may draw attention to its dictionary meaning of an easily manipulated person, but the official group uses PATSY as a first name.Puzzle #1162The four groups progress from yellow to purple in the verified color order. · Some words can suggest music, performance, or participation in ordinary usage. Treat those as player-facing possibilities, then check whether a proposed set contains exactly four words from one official category.Puzzle #1161The verified board progresses through yellow, green, blue and purple, with two ending-based categories occupying the blue and purple positions. · The longer words encourage suffix inspection, but they divide between two exact rules: units of length and synonyms for FOLLOW SECRETLY.Puzzle #1159The verified sequence moves from the yellow PERSEVERE group through green and blue to the purple idiom group. · MILES, INCH and FEET can suggest measurement language, but they resolve into AIRLINE STATUS PERKS, MOVE SLOWLY (UP TO) and "COLD" THINGS, IN IDIOMS, respectively. With no fourth verified member, that proposed set cannot complete.Puzzle #1158Yellow, green, blue, then purple in the verified color order. · A possible false grouping starts with FINE PRINT, GOODBYE, GREAT WHITE and OKAYAMA because each begins with an affirmative-looking word or syllable, but FINE PRINT and GREAT WHITE do not complete the official starting-with-affirmative-responses group without the exact remaining pairings.Puzzle #1157The verified color order places DOOMED in yellow, BASIC CABLE CHANNELS in green, WORDS IN AN AUCTIONEER'S CHANT in blue, and HOMOPHONES OF FACIAL FEATURES in purple. · Several entries support familiar standalone meanings, so test whether a possible set matches the exact source category rather than a broader association.Puzzle #1156The board follows the verified yellow, green, blue, and purple difficulty order. · WILLY-NILLY, WILL CALL, BILL TO, and BILLY GOAT have similar-looking openings, but each maps to a distinct official category, so that visual pattern does not supply a shared relationship.Puzzle #1155Yellow, green, blue, then purple in the verified order · BAD DREAM, ESCAPE ROOM, JURY DUTY and LABYRINTH all fit the official category THINGS PEOPLE TRY TO GET OUT OF; do not split that set while testing other patterns.Puzzle #1154The verified sequence moves from yellow through green and blue to purple, with the final group requiring attention to how complete words can represent letter sounds. · CUTIE and EASY belong together in the blue group, while EXPRESS belongs to CONVEY and YAHOO belongs to QUAINT EXPRESSIONS OF EXCITEMENT. Those last two words prevent that tempting set from forming an official four-word group.Puzzle #1153The progression runs from concrete components through a spelling-based purple relationship. · Several words can suggest broad object or machinery vocabulary, but those loose associations do not produce the four exact official relationships.Puzzle #1152The official sequence moves from yellow through green and blue to purple. · Several entries name places, so a broad location-based set can feel promising before its relationship is precise enough.Puzzle #1151The verified solution progresses from yellow NAVIGATE through green JEANS BRANDS and blue HOUSE STYLES to purple WHAT "STOCK" MIGHT REFER TO. · STEER, CATTLE, RANCH and WRANGLER can suggest a ranch-and-animal set to a player, but they map to NAVIGATE, WHAT "STOCK" MIGHT REFER TO, HOUSE STYLES and JEANS BRANDS, respectively.Puzzle #1150A four-step progression from the yellow group through the purple group, following the verified color order. · Several entries can prompt broad object, place, transportation, or shape associations, so a tentative set should be checked against all four words before submission.Puzzle #1149Hard · Several words suggest ordinary objects, plants, or actions, while the two hardest groups depend on inspecting spelling and hidden word boundaries.Puzzle #1148Moderate to hard · Several short words have many grammatical uses, so semantic overlap can pull LIKE, SO, BY, and WELL into plausible but incomplete sets. AIRPLANE also suggests travel, which can distract from the airport-code mechanism.Puzzle #1147Moderate to hard, with an accessible bedding group followed by surname ambiguity, technical machining vocabulary and variable-length bread wordplay. · The strongest cross-group lure is BALE with BUNDLE, since both can suggest packaged material. REAM may also attract SHEET through paper, while LOAFER's shoe sense hides LOAF.Puzzle #1146medium · The board mixes ordinary dictionary words with familiar names and compounds, encouraging broad semantic guesses before the word-structure groups become visible.Puzzle #1145Moderate, with two compact wordplay groups and several convincing overlaps · CARNIVAL can appear to join BINGO and JUGGLING as public entertainment, while RIGHT can distract from the phrase-based precision group.Puzzle #1144Moderate, with familiar categories obscured by several words that have strong alternate meanings. · GEM, NUGGET and PEARL look like small physical valuables, while BLACK, WHITE, PLAIN and VANILLA invite a misleading color-or-style grouping.Puzzle #1143Moderate, with a demanding final wordplay group · Several words have strong standalone meanings that conceal brand names, apple varieties, and names embedded at their beginnings.Puzzle #1142Moderate: familiar words hide behind four different kinds of association, with STICK creating the strongest cross-group temptation. · STICK looks plausible beside CARROT, ICICLE, and KNITTING NEEDLE as a long narrow object, but STALACTITE completes the more precise tapered-things group.Puzzle #1141Moderate, with one approachable life-stage group and a demanding final polysemy group. · Several entries invite literal sorting by food, weather, animals, brands, or household objects before their intended senses become clear.Puzzle #1139Medium · Several words can describe movement, memory, or a result, so surface meanings point toward plausible but incomplete groups.Puzzle #1138Moderate to hard · Several airport-related words compete with DEPLANE, while ordinary meanings conceal the geometry endings.Puzzle #1137Moderate, with familiar words disguised by several convincing alternate meanings. · The board encourages broad body, sports, and visual-description associations before its more precise contexts emerge.Puzzle #1136Moderate, with several convincing overlaps and a specialized theater category · CROP, BOOK, DRIVER, and GRAM all invite common meanings that conceal the intended clothing, theater, software, and word-building senses.Puzzle #1135Moderate, with a demanding final wordplay group · Several words suggest sound, food, or interface ideas, while the hardest group depends on hidden beverage names at the beginnings of longer words.Puzzle #1134Medium · Several words describe joining, movement, or a face, so surface meanings can pull you toward near-groups before the precise phrases emerge.Puzzle #1133Moderate, with a sports cluster that becomes clear once its multiword entry is recognized. · Several broad nouns can suggest everyday statistics or personal perspectives, while CARRY and TRAVEL initially look like ordinary movement words rather than basketball terms.Puzzle #1132Moderate, with a demanding word-ending group and several finale-themed decoys. · FAREWELL, LAST DANCE, and SWAN SONG strongly suggest endings, but PLOT SPOILER can tempt solvers toward narrative conclusions even though it belongs to the car-parts wordplay group.Puzzle #1131Moderate to hard · DOT MATRIX and SPOT REMOVER look like practical items, while PERIOD PIECE and POINT BREAK look entertainment-related. That surface mismatch hides the shared opening-word pattern.Puzzle #1130Moderate, with familiar words obscured by several plausible cross-group associations. · BAR, COURT, RACKET, and BASEBALL GLOVE can pull solvers toward sports, while BREATHING and WATER may suggest swimming.Puzzle #1129Moderate · BARGAIN and DEAL may suggest shopping, which can pull GROCERY into a false commerce group. CUT and SHUFFLE can also evoke cards, while U-TURN and THIS SIDE UP resemble directions rather than members of a broader symbol category.Puzzle #1128Moderate to hard, with familiar vocabulary obscuring a wordplay-heavy final group. · GRILL can suggest an object, MUG can mean a face or an attack, and PUMP can be equipment, creating false object-based combinations before the verb and handle groups are separated.Puzzle #1127Moderate to hard · The board encourages broad food and lifestyle associations: fruit words can point toward candy, PARTY and SPREE suggest celebration, and NERD may seem at home with STUDY. The decisive move is to demand an exact relationship for every member.Puzzle #1126Moderate, with a demanding final wordplay group · Familiar descriptive words and character names can distract from the more concrete circus set, while the last group depends on letter positions rather than meaning.Puzzle #1125Hard · Four entries contain MODE, but AIRPLANE MODE, À LA MODE, DEPECHE MODE, and SAFE MODE belong to four different groups.Puzzle #1124Moderate to hard · Several words invite convincing alternate readings: THROW and PITCHFORK suggest actions, SPIN can describe motion, and FIREBIRD and ROLLING STONE look like entertainment titles.Puzzle #1123Moderate, with several convincing verb overlaps and a demanding final fill-in-the-blank group. · PICK, PLANE, TAP and THREAD can all suggest tools or workshop actions, while DRIFT and PLOT initially look unrelated.Puzzle #1122Hard · Several words suggest schools, buildings, people, or titles, while the purple group hides character names across word endings.Puzzle #1121Hard · BOMBSHELL, THUNDERBOLT, VOLCANO, TNT, and EARTHQUAKE PILLS all suggest explosions or violent forces, creating a broad but invalid disaster-themed cluster.Puzzle #1120Moderate, with two straightforward everyday categories and a difficult abbreviation-based finish. · GOLD and GREEN can suggest colors, while CARD can appear to belong with the four American Express card types.Puzzle #1119Moderate, with familiar vocabulary obscured by several plausible meanings and phrase associations. · HURRICANE, PAINKILLER, SCORPION, and ZOMBIE disguise a drink category behind vivid literal meanings, while LAST and STAY can tempt unrelated grammatical or phrase-based groupings.Puzzle #1118Medium, with a phrase-heavy board and a pronunciation-based final group · Several entries describe social reactions or emotional experiences, making feeling-related associations look broader than they are.Puzzle #1117Moderate to hard · The strongest trap is treating the many two-word entries as one broad phrase-pattern group; their opening words actually divide into nicknames and sports venues.Puzzle #1116Hard · Nearly every tile looks geographic, encouraging a loose cities-or-countries guess. The sharper trap is that CASABLANCA, CHICAGO, FARGO, and MUNICH could be grouped merely as cities, while the intended relationship is their shared Best Picture history.Puzzle #1115Moderate, with several short words that support convincing false starts. · Compact entries such as CAN, CURL, GATE and SKETCH invite verb-based groupings, while BOTTLE and ON TAP suggest a tempting beverage connection.Puzzle #1114Hard, with a particularly opaque wordplay group and several plausible cross-category associations. · CABINET, CONE, MAGNET, WOOFER, EMBARK, and GROOT can suggest objects, shapes, attraction, sound, travel, or fictional references before their exact relationships emerge.Puzzle #1113Moderate · Several short command words look interchangeable, while PICK and CHOICE can pull solvers toward selection language.Puzzle #1112Hard · The repeated WALK endings create a strong false grouping across BOARDWALK, CATWALK, CROSSWALK, and FIREWALK.Puzzle #1111Moderate, with a deceptive final wordplay group · Several short words invite unrelated readings: CHIP suggests computing, NUT suggests hardware, BOARD suggests a committee, and HOLLOW can be an adjective.Puzzle #1110Moderate, with a demanding wordplay finish · Several words invite alternate readings: MONITOR can be a verb, LEAD has multiple pronunciations, COMPACT can name an agreement, and HOCKEY initially looks unlike the other bird-based entries.Puzzle #1109Moderate, with a music-heavy opening and several vivid distractors · CHINA and PINK can suggest colors, while KING, CLIFFORD, HUMPTY DUMPTY, and MR. KRABS can pull attention toward fictional characters.Puzzle #1108Moderate, with a manageable opening set and a deceptive final category · MANTLES/MANTELS changes meaning across the four purple answers, while FEATURED, POPULAR, RECENT, and TRENDING can all look like general descriptions rather than interface labels.Puzzle #1107Moderate to hard · HEAD, LEAD, SHORT and SOFT can tempt solvers toward physical descriptions, while X and ● may look like generic symbols. POWDER is the sharpest purple misdirection because its hidden opening is POW, not a meaning-based relationship.Puzzle #1106Moderate, with two accessible groups followed by a deceptive wordplay finish · ROCKS and WINGS can suggest music or movement, while COMMUNITY and FRIENDS look like social concepts. The strongest trap is treating the four long purple words by their full meanings instead of examining their beginnings.Puzzle #1105Moderate, with a wordplay-heavy final group and several plausible cross-group associations. · BACK and ROCKER can suggest chair parts, while CHAMPION may look like a noun rather than a verb. The four K entries are also easier to recognize after the direct semantic groups are removed.Puzzle #1104Moderate to hard · The food terms and CHOPSTICKS encourage a broad cuisine group, while several long entries conceal word fragments at their beginnings or endings.Puzzle #1103Moderate, with a demanding wordplay finish · BARRE and PLIE invite a ballet pairing, while BEARING and CARRIAGE can both suggest physical posture or movement.Puzzle #1102Hard · Several words invite familiar but misleading readings: CAVITY suggests dentistry, ECHO suggests sound, CLASSIC suggests quality, and NERVE can describe anatomy rather than attitude.Puzzle #1101Moderate to hard · Several color words and broad noun meanings encourage false groupings, while SUITE and COURT can point toward places rather than people.Puzzle #1100Moderate, with broad everyday vocabulary masking several different kinds of relationships. · DOG, DRAGON, HORSE, and SNAKE can evoke creatures, symbols, or fantasy, while LEGS and SHOWER invite misleading physical-action groupings.Puzzle #1099Moderate, with recognizable sets obscured by several vivid cross-group associations. · The Wonderland imagery is the main trap: CATERPILLAR, POCKET WATCH, RABBIT HOLE, and TEA PARTY are clear together, but GLOBE, MOTHER, and BANANA PEEL can distract through broad story, object, or character associations.Puzzle #1098Moderate, with a clean opening group and a title-based final category · Several words can evoke entertainment broadly, while SPOON and MAKEUP may suggest unrelated everyday categories.Puzzle #1097Hard · Every entry is a familiar two-word expression, but the real categories depend only on the first word of each phrase.Puzzle #1096Hard, with two wordplay groups that require reconstructing altered names · BRONCHO, FORERUNNER, TROUPER, and UCONN look like ordinary words or names before their SUV sound-alikes emergePuzzle #1095Moderate, with broad everyday words and several plausible cross-group associations. · The board encourages false links among theater terms, document units, and words that can describe surfaces or presentation.Puzzle #1094Moderate, with a demanding slang group and several words that invite misleading everyday associations. · ANGEL, BABE, DOVE, and LAMB can all describe people, while AXE, BONE, KEYS, and SKINS conceal their shared musical slang sense.Puzzle #1093Moderate, with a straightforward geography group and a more demanding movie-title finish. · Several words invite unrelated interpretations: DELTA suggests an airline, COCONUT and MELON look like foods, and PUNCH can describe a drink or a strike.Puzzle #1092Moderate, with familiar words obscuring two less direct relationships · VOICE, STATE, LEVEL, TOTAL, POP, and TRASH all invite plausible noun-based pairings that cut across the intended groups.Puzzle #1091Moderate, with several misleading noun and verb overlaps · MONITOR, REGISTER, DISPLAY, and DRAFTING can suggest screens, records, or workplace activity, while POLE and STAKE may pull attention toward outdoor objects.Puzzle #1090Hard · GHOST and WITCH suggest a supernatural set, while PUFF and BREADCRUMB can pull attention toward loosely related foods.Puzzle #1089Moderate to hard · OIL, VINEGAR, SALT, and PEPPER strongly suggest seasonings or table condiments, but selecting them together would take one word from every official category.Puzzle #1088Moderate, with an approachable opening group and a demanding final word-transformation category. · BROWN can look like a color clue, GUMMY can suggest candy as a noun, and PASTY can be read as an adjective. BELL, MOAN, and RAY also look like complete ordinary words, disguising the missing-letter mechanism.Puzzle #1087Moderate, with a wordplay-heavy final group · CLOAK-AND-DAGGER and COAT OF ARMS can suggest clothing, while CAPE MAY initially looks like another garment-related phrase.Puzzle #1086Moderate, with two accessible sets and a literary group that may require title recognition. · The many concrete household nouns encourage loose home-related groupings. PIPE can belong to a building, while CAT, ONION, TREE, and WEDDING invite unrelated phrase associations.Puzzle #1085Moderate, with a demanding purple wordplay finish · BREAK, JACK, POCKET, RACK, SALT and TAR all invite several plausible everyday associations, while the final four words hide their construction behind ordinary spellings.Puzzle #1084Hard · CLEAR, LUCID, and SOUND can describe thought or communication, while IMPOSSIBLE, NEVER, NO WAY, and SORRY initially resemble unrelated negative responses.Puzzle #1083Moderate, with a demanding abbreviation group and several misleading room-related words. · DRAWING, READING, PUBLIC ADDRESS and BO can look like forms of communication, while ARCTIC may suggest a region rather than an ocean.Puzzle #1082Moderate, with a dense cluster of words that can describe places, fixtures, or public institutions. · BAR, BENCH, STAND, LODGE, PRESS, and MEDIA invite several plausible pairings before the compound phrase group becomes clear.Puzzle #1081Hard · HAMLET, OTHELLO, LEAR, and MACBETH form a convincing Shakespeare set, but each belongs to a different official group.Puzzle #1080Moderate, with a demanding final wordplay group · POINT and RING can suggest shapes, while CUP and AIRPLANE can pull attention toward objects rather than relationships.Puzzle #1079Moderate, with a compact abbreviation set and several short words that invite false associations. · BALL, CAP, PIN, and LID can look like a group of small or rounded objects, while SCRAP and SHRED can suggest destruction rather than a tiny amount.Puzzle #1078Moderate, with a demanding wordplay finish · Several words suggest unrelated meanings or actions: PEN can mean writing, STAFF can mean employees, MARCH is also a month, and STRIKE has many nonlabor senses.Puzzle #1077Moderate, with a demanding final wordplay group · FIRST, LAST, SOONER and RATHER can look like one broad sequence or preference-based set, while several character names also have ordinary dictionary meanings.Puzzle #1076Moderate, with several plausible overlaps among workplace phrases and compound expressions. · CHECK IN and CHECKOUT LANE invite a retail pairing, while CARRY-ON and BAGGAGE CLAIM suggest air travel. CUSTOM can also misdirect toward TAILOR-MADE.Puzzle #1075Moderate, with familiar categories disguised by food, game, and color overlaps. · PEACH, PUMPKIN, PECAN, and HONEY encourage a broad food grouping, while CHESS can pull attention toward games alongside the tennis vocabulary.