NYT Connections Helper

Connections Helper

Enter the 16 words from today's NYT Connections puzzle, then click tiles to group them by color. Use the strategy tips below to spot the tricky categories.

Type or paste the 16 words — one per cell

Click tiles to select them, then assign to a color group

Yellow

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0/4

Green

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0/4

Blue

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0/4

Purple

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0/4

Strategy Tips for NYT Connections

Start with Yellow (easiest). The yellow group is the most straightforward — look for obvious theme matches before tackling purple.
Watch for red herrings. NYT deliberately puts words that feel related across different groups. "Bass" could be music, fish, or voice — context from other words helps.
Look for the "___ word" pattern. Many categories are hidden compound words or phrases: "FIRE___", "___WORK", "BOOK___".
Think about parts of speech. A category might be "things that can follow OVER" or "words that mean ANGRY" — not just nouns.
Scan for double meanings. Words in purple often have a surprising second meaning that ties 4 seemingly unrelated words together.
Use process of elimination. Once you're confident about 3 groups, the last 4 words form the fourth group by default.
One away? If you submit a group and get "One Away", swap one word at a time with the remaining tiles — you've correctly identified 3 of the 4.

How to Use This Helper

Enter the Words

Type the 16 words from the puzzle into the grid cells, then click Load Words.

Select & Group

Click tiles to select them (they highlight), then press Yellow, Green, Blue, or Purple to assign the group.

Spot the Pattern

Use the group rows to visualize your working theory, then use the strategy tips above to find the link.

Connections FAQ

How does NYT Connections work?

You're shown 16 words and must sort them into four groups of four. Each group shares a hidden common theme. The groups are color-coded by difficulty: Yellow (easiest), Green, Blue, and Purple (hardest). You get four guesses — if you select four words that are all in the same group, they're removed. Guess wrong four times and the puzzle reveals the answers.

What's the hardest part of Connections?

The purple category. NYT designs it to be genuinely tricky — often involving wordplay, obscure knowledge, or a lateral thinking twist. Don't submit purple until you've solved the other three groups by elimination.

Can I use this tool on my phone?

Yes — the helper is fully responsive. Type the words into the cells, tap tiles to select them, and tap a color button to assign the group. The layout adjusts to two columns on smaller screens.

Why doesn't this tool show me the answer automatically?

NYT Connections answers require understanding the puzzle's unique theme — something that changes every day and can't be solved by pattern-matching against a dictionary. This helper gives you a workspace and strategy framework to work it out yourself.