Want a different day?
A new NYT Connections puzzle appears every day at midnight for your time zone – which means some people are still playing “today’s game” while others are playing “yesterday’s.” If you are looking for the Sunday puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections Tips and Answers for Sunday, February 8 (Game #973).
Good morning! Let’s play Connections, the clever word game from the New York Times that challenges you to group answers into different categories. This can be difficult, so read on if you need tips on connections.
SPOILER WARNING: The information on NYT Connections today is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.
NYT Connections today (game #974) – words of the day
Today’s NYT Connections words are…
- APPROACH
- PRIME
- POKER
- NEEDLE
- STRAWS
- LOOM
- STYLE
- ADVANCE
- CLOSE
- PATH
- SCISSORS
- COSTS
- ROYALTY
- THREAD
- MANNER
- THE LINE
NYT Connections today (game #974) – clue #1 – group clues
What are the clues for today’s NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: Things needed for textile production
- GREEN: How it’s done
- BLUE: How Writers Get Paid
- PURPLE: Start with an artistic word
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 riddles…
NYT Connections today (game #974) – clue #2 – group answers
What are the answers for today’s NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: USED IN WEAVING
- GREEN: METHOD
- BLUE: TYPES OF PAYMENT FOR AN AUTHOR
- PURPLE: DRAW _____
That’s right, the answers are below, so DON’T SCROLL FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Connections today (game #974) – the answers
The answers to today’s Connections game #974 are…
- YELLOW: USED IN WEAVING HOOK, NEEDLE, SCISSORS, THREAD
- GREEN: METHOD APPROACH, MANNER, STYLE, MANNER
- BLUE: TYPES OF PAYMENT FOR AN AUTHOR ADVANCE, BONUS, FEES, ROYALTIES
- PURPLE: DRAW _____ NEAR, POKER, STRAWS, THE LINE
- My rating: Easy
- My rating: Perfect
I skimmed through today’s game not knowing what the groups were, just seeing the connections between the words.
I should have spotted TYPES OF PAYMENT FOR AN AUTHOR first, because that’s something I’ve experienced. Getting an ADVANCE is very exciting and feels a bit like cheating since you haven’t provided anything, but that feeling quickly fades as you start to feel the pressure to meet the deadline and get the much larger check that follows. This is actually a really good system for motivating procrastinators.
Despite the speed, I still enjoyed the thrill of ranking the four groups in order of difficulty, which I’ve now done 150 times according to the app. What are your Perfect Puzzle stats?
Answers from yesterday’s NYT Connections (Sunday, February 8, match #973)
- YELLOW: DELETION Gagging, Inhibition, Muzzle, Silence
- GREEN: SAME OLD STUFF DRILL, GRIND, HABIT, ROUTINE
- BLUE: CHARACTERISTICS OF A STRONG PASSWORD LENGTH, NUMBER, SYMBOL, CAPITAL LETTER
- PURPLE: WORDS AFTER “TWO” BIT, CENTS, HEADS, TIMER
What is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games created by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four elements that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow is a little more difficult, blue is often quite difficult, and purple is usually very difficult.
On the plus side, you technically don’t need to solve the final question, as you will be able to answer it through a process of elimination. Additionally, you can make up to four mistakes, giving you some breathing room.
However, it’s a bit more complex than something like Wordle, and the game provides plenty of opportunities to trip you up with tricks. For example, watch out for homophones and other puns that could obscure the answers.
It is playable for free via the NYT Games website on computer or mobile.
