Today’s NYT Connections Hints and Answers for July 31, #416

Need the answers for the New York Times Connections Puzzle? To me, Wordle is more of a vocabulary test, but Connections is more of a brain teaser. You’re given 16 words and have to sort them into four groups that are connected in some way. Sometimes they’re obvious, but game editor Wyna Liu manages to trick you by using words that fit into more than one group. Read on for today’s Connections hints and answers.

Want more answers to the game? Here’s today’s Wordle answer, and here’s the answer for Strands. And will you solve the NYT Mini Crossword? Here’s today’s answer for that.

Read more: NYT Connections could be the new Wordle: our hints and tips

Tips for Today’s Connections Groups

Below are four clues for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, arranged from the easiest yellow group to the trickiest (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Like Brenda Vaccaro’s voice.

Green group hint: No toes, but…

Blue group hint: Beer here.

Purple group hint: Yes Yes.

Answers for Today’s Connections Groups

Yellow group: Hoarse.

Green group: Fingers.

Blue group: Beer styles.

Purple group: French ____

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: These Are The Most Popular Letters Used In English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is grating. The four answers are gruff, hoarse, hoarse, and rough.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is fingers. The four answers are small, middle, index and ring.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is ale styles. The four answers are amber, porter, sour and stout.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is French ____. The four answers are bulldog, fry, horn and kiss.

How to play Connections

Playing is easy. Winning is hard. Look at the 16 words and mentally assign them to related groups of four. Click on the four words that you think belong together. The groups are color-coded, but you won’t know what goes where until you see the answers. The yellow group is easiest, then green, then blue, and purple is hardest. Look closely at the words and think of related terms. Sometimes the connection is just part of the word. Once, four words were grouped together because they all started with the name of a rock band, including “Rushmore” and “Journeyman.”