August 9Th New York Times Insight: Decode Today’s #424 Connection Clues

Quick Links

• What Is Connections?
• Hints for Today’s Connections Groups
• Today’s NYT Connections Answers
• How Did We Solve This Connections Game?
• How Do You Guess Connections Groups?

Connections is a game from the New York Times that challenges you to find the association between words. It sounds easy, but it isn’t—Connections categories can be almost anything, and they’re usually quite specific. If you need a hand getting the answers, we’ve got you covered.

What Is Connections?

Connections is a game from the New York Times. The objective is simple: sort 16 words into groups of 4. Each group of words will be connected by some common idea or theme. That common element could be anything. We have seen everything from games that rely on the number of letters in the words to categories that require you to spot an extra letter at the end of the word. Sometimes they’re references to economics, other times they reference fairy tales. There is no telling what sort of association there will be between words.

Once you’re confident you understand the connection, select 4 words, then hit “Submit.” You have only four attempts in total, so don’t be too guess-happy.

Hints for Today’s Connections Groups

Here are a few hints for the 424th Connections game to get you started:

• Yellow: Something isn’t there.
• Green: When you stump for an idea or a person.
• Blue: They all involve an electric guitar.
• Purple: The missing word is related to electricity.

If you still need help, the actual group names are:

• Yellow: Not Present
• Green: Supporter
• Blue: Rock Genres
• Purple: Shock ____

Today’s NYT Connections Answers

Not Present (Yellow):

Absent, Elsewhere, Gone, MIA

Supporter (Green):

Advocate, Champion, Cheerleader, Exponent

Rock Genres (Blue):

Glam, Goth, Metal, Punk

Shock ____ (Purple):

Horror, Jock, Value, Wave

How Did We Solve This Connections Game?

August 9th wasn’t too bad, but I did have to shuffle a bit more than usual to get the answers.

The first group I spotted was Blue, “Rock Genres.” Glam, goth, metal, and punk? There was simply nothing else for it!

I shuffled the words around and started with the word absent next, since it really only means “not present in a place, at an occasion, or as part of something.” Elsewhere, gone, and MIA (an initialism for missing in action) seemed to fit the same idea, so I threw them together. They were in the Yellow group, “Not Present.”

I shuffled a few more times, then advocate and champion landed together. Those words are both used when you endorse an idea and want it to succeed. With that in mind, cheerleader and exponent were really the only words remaining that could possibly fit. Exponent felt odd, though, since I’m much more familiar with it in the math context. They were in the Green group, “Supporter.”

That left horror, jock, value, and wave in the Purple group. Try as I might, I couldn’t really find any connection or word that made the group work. It turned out that the group was “Shock ______,” making the terms in Purple horror shock, shock jock, shock value, and shock wave.

How Do You Guess Connections Groups?

There is no quick, reliable way to approach Connections like there is with Wordle, since Connections isn’t algorithmic. However, there are a few things to keep in mind that can help.

1. Look for similar parts of speech. Are some words verbs and others nouns? Are some adjectives? Try mentally grouping them based on those categories and see if any other patterns jump out at you.
2. Are the words synonyms? Sometimes categories will just be synonyms for a phrase, or very close to synonyms. Don’t rely too closely on this, though. Occasionally, Connections will deliberately throw in words that are sometimes synonyms to mislead you.
3. Try saying the words. Sometimes, saying the words helps. One puzzle we saw included the words go, rate, faster, clip, pace, speed, move, commute, and hurry—all of which are obviously related to the idea of motion. However, when you say them, it becomes a little more obvious that only four (go, move, hurry, faster) are things you’d actually say to prompt someone to get moving.
4. Expect the red herring . Connections usually has words that could be plausibly, yet incorrectly, grouped together. Take the words Bud, Corona, and Light, as an example. You might instinctively see those three words together and assume they’re lumped together in a category related to beer—but they weren’t.
5. Look for distinct words. If a word on your board doesn’t have multiple meanings or can really only be used in one context, try using that word as the basis for a category.
6. Shuffle the board. Sometimes, moving words around will help you look at them in new ways.

If you didn’t solve this one, don’t feel too bad—there’s always tomorrow! And those words may align with a topic you’re interested in, giving you a leg up on the competition.

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