NYT Connections Today – My Hints and Answers for Friday, December 13 (Game #551)
Good morning! Let’s play Connections, the NYT’s clever word game that challenges you to group answers into different categories. It can be tricky, so read on if you need pointers.
What should you do when you’re done? Of course, play some word games. I also have daily Strands Hints and Answers and Quordle Hints and Answers articles if you need help with those too, while Marc’s Wordle Today page covers the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about today’s NYT Connections is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.
NYT Connections Today (Game #551) – Today’s Words
Today’s words from NYT Connections are…
- WASTE
- PHISH
- CRUSH
- TROLL
- DRILL
- SPAM
- LEFT
- SPRAYING
- SPRITE
- TOWED
- GIANT
- DESIGNS
- PIXIE
- SENT
- STARS
- DRAGON
NYT Connections Today (Game #551) – Hint #1 – Group Hints
What are some pointers for current NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: Mythical creatures
- VEGETABLES: Archive messages
- BLUE: Fruity effervescence
- PURPLE: Beastly sounds
Need more clues?
We’re firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four themed answers are for today’s NYT Connections puzzles…
NYT Connections Today (Game #551) – Hint #2 – Group Answers
What are the answers for today’s NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: FANTASY CREATURES
- GREEN: EMAIL FOLDERS
- BLUE: CITRUS Soft Drinks
- PURPLE: ANIMAL HOMOPHONES
Okay, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Connections Today (Game #551) – The Answers
The answers to today’s Connections game #551 are…
- YELLOW: FANTASY CREATURES DRAGON, GIANT, PIXIE, TROLL
- GREEN: EMAIL FOLDERS DRAFT, SENT, SPAM, WASTE
- BLUE: CITRUS Soft Drinks CRUSH, SPRITE, SQUIRT, STARS
- PURPLE: ANIMAL HOMOPHONES BORE, LEFT, PHISH, DRAG
- My rating: Moderate
- My score: 2 mistakes
If you’re in the UK rather than the US, you may be at a serious disadvantage when it comes to connections.
Yellow and green were pretty easy today – although I initially fell into the trap of wanting to put SPAM, TROLL and PHISH together in the same group. Blue and Purple confused me because I had no idea about STARRY or SQUIRT soda. Starry is a relative newcomer, but I was surprised to learn that Squirt has been around since 1938, a plucky grapefruit-flavored underdog that has survived the competition and carbonated innovation of major soda pop.
Here we still mourn the death of Lilt, which has been renamed the much less exotic Fanta Pineapple & Grapefruit. Although that has been said, the history of Fanta (Coca-Cola’s wartime alternative in Nazi Germany) is a worthy Wikipedia rabbit hole.
Yesterday’s NYT Connections answers (Thursday, December 12, game #550)
- YELLOW: THINGS THAT SOUND LIKE “T” TEA, TEE (WAVE), TEE (SHIRT), TI (MUSIC NOTE)
- GREEN: OBJECTS WITH TEETH COMB, GEAR, SAW, ZIPPER
- BLUE: mild oaths FUDGE, GEEZ, NUTS, RATS
- PURPLE: PARTS OF A RIVER COUCH, BED, DELTA, MOUTH
What is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections is one of the New York Times’ increasingly popular word games. It challenges you to find groups of four items that have something in common, and each group has a different level of difficulty: green is easy, yellow is slightly harder, blue is often quite hard, and purple is usually very hard.
On the plus side, you technically don’t have to solve the last question because you can answer it by a process of elimination. Plus, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you some breathing room.
It’s a bit more complicated than something like Wordle, though, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For example, beware of homophones and other word games that can obscure the answers.
It is playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
