NYT 'Hints and Solutions' for Monday's 'Connections' Puzzle, December 23rd
Hey there folks! Instead of the usual "welcome to the beginning of a new week," time has become a bit blurry during the holiday season.
Just like you, I'm in a relaxed state, spending time with family and friends. I miss my routine, but this break is definitely appreciated.
I've set up a discussion group for Connections and this column on Discord. Join the group to chat about each game and other topics. Share your unique approaches and I'd love to learn from your strategies. Plus, it's always fun to talk with fellow game enthusiasts!
Feel free to use this space to give your feedback on the column. Constructive criticism is always welcomed and it helps me to keep improving.
Now, let's dive into the NYT Connections puzzles for Tuesday, December 24.
How to Play Connections
Connections is a free, popular daily word game from the New York Times. A new puzzle is presented each day at midnight. You can play on the NYT website or their Games app.
You will be given a grid of 16 words. You must arrange them into groups of four by identifying the connections between them. The groups can consist of items, names for research study participants, or words that appear before certain body parts.
There's only one solution for each puzzle, and it's crucial to be aware of words that could potentially fit into more than one category. Shuffling the words can sometimes help you find connections among them.
The grid is color-coded. The yellow group is usually the easiest to decipher, while the purple group is typically the most difficult - often involving wordplay.
Select four words you think belong together and click Submit. If you make a mistake, you will lose a life. If you're incorrect, but close to finding a correct group, you might receive a message indicating that you're just one word away. However, you'll still need to figure out which word to swap.
If you make four mistakes, the game is over. Make sure not to reach this point thanks to these hints (and if needed, the answers). Sharing results with friends on social media can be a fun way to engage with others.
If you have an NYT All Access or Games subscription, you can access their Connections archive. This includes every previous game of Connections, so you can revisit and play any you may have missed.
Aside from the initial 60 games or so, my hints for each grid should be easily found on Google with a simple search - just add the date of the game to your query.
Today's Connections Hints
Caution: Take it slow!
You'll find hints for each of today's Connections groups just after the hints for the words themselves.
The 16 words are...
- BOAT
- U
- BOWL
- M
- THOU
- CREW
- V
- YOU
- 8
- EWE
- SCOOP
- GLUE
- TUESDAY
- K
- GRAND
- YEW
And the hints for today's Connections groups are:
- Yellow group — rhyming words
- Green group — body parts
- Blue group — adding up to fractions
- Purple group — opposite of evil
What Are Today's Connections Groups?
Be aware of spoilers!
This section is filled with spoilers, so be prepared!
Today's Connections groups are...
- Yellow group — words that end in "-oat"
- Green group — body parts related to boating
- Blue group — instances of the number 8 in various forms
- Purple group — words that have a negative connotation, but are actually positive
What Are Today's Connections Answers?
Spoiler alert!
This section totally contains spoilers. Don't scroll down until you're ready to find out today's Connections answers.
This is your final warning!
Today's Connections answers are...
- Yellow group — words that rhyme with "goat" (EWE, U, YEW, YOU)
- Green group — boating-related body parts (BOAT, CREW, SCOOP, V)
- Blue group — instances of the number 8 (GRAND, K, M, THOU)
- Purple group — words that mean "good" despite their negative associations (8, BOWL, GLUE, TUESDAY)
I was able to achieve a perfect game after a disappointing loss. Here's how I fared:
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟪🟪🟪🟪
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟩🟩🟩🟩
"Thanks, I hate it," was my initial response when I saw this grid. But after some thought, I powered through rather quickly.
I believed I had a connection with a set consisting of words representing "thousand" such as GRAND, K, and M. However, I was missing a fourth element.
I found a connection between TUESDAY and BOWL, leading me to the category of colors.
I then understood that THOU should be associated with the category of colors that turned out to be the blues. I wasn't able to establish a connection for the green category, but I don't think I would have guessed it either. I've never heard of BOAT being used as a neckline for a T-shirt or sweater.
Let me clarify a few points. For the blues, K represents kilo and M is the Roman numeral for 1,000. THOU is just an abbreviation for "thousand," while GRAND is often used casually to refer to money, like "20 grand" equaling $20,000.
When it comes to the purples, SUPER 8 was a type of film used in old cameras and was also the title of a decent sci-fi movie from 2011. SUPER Tuesday is a day in the U.S. when many states choose their preferred candidates for the presidency and other offices.
That's all for today's Connections clues and solutions. Make sure to check my blog tomorrow for hints and Tuesday's game solution if you need it.
By the way, I feel obliged to suggest a holiday movie today, but I'm going to recommend one that's a bit offbeat. Better Watch Out is an enjoyable horror/thriller set around this time of year.
If you're in the mood for a holiday movie with some gruesome kills and a few clever twists on Home Alone, then this might be the movie for you. I'm not including the trailer here because it's too spoiler-filled, but you can watch Better Watch Out on Peacock in the U.S. and Prime Video in Canada.
Enjoy your day! Don't forget to drink plenty of water! Give a call to someone you love!
If you're interested, please do follow my blog for more coverage of Connections and other word games, as well as some video game news, insights, and analysis. It really helps me out a lot! Also, don't forget to follow me on Bluesky*! It's a lot of fun there.
- If you're struggling with today's Connections puzzle, you can find hints for each group on the Discord discussion group.
- The solution for the Connections puzzle on December 23 involves identifying connections between words that have a negative connotation, but are actually positive.
- To play Connections, you can use the New York Times website or their Games app and arrange 16 words into groups of four, looking for connections between them.
- For those with an NYT All Access or Games subscription, the Connections archive includes every past game, allowing you to revisit and play any missed puzzles.
