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 Friday puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections Tips and Answers for Friday, February 13 (Game #978).
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 #979) – words of the day
Today’s NYT Connections words are…
- TIP
- SPEAR
- LUMP
- LEAP
- JUNIOR
- HIKING
- GUMP
- BUMP
- SOIL
- BREATH
- WOODED
- MOUND
- PEPPER
- PHILLIPS
- BUMP
- INCREASE
NYT Connections today (game #979) – clue #1 – group clues
What are the clues for today’s NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: Ascending trajectory
- GREEN: A little bit beyond
- BLUE: A great actor in common
- PURPLE: The sweet smell of menthol
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 #979) – clue #2 – group answers
What are the answers for today’s NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: INCREASE
- GREEN: PROTUBERANCE
- BLUE: ROLES OF TOM HANKS
- PURPLE: WORDS BEFORE “MINT”
That’s right, the answers are below, so DON’T SCROLL FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Connections today (game #979) – the answers
The answers to today’s Connections game #979 are…
- YELLOW: INCREASE HIKE, JUMP, RISE, SPIKE
- GREEN: PROTUBERANCE Bump, bump, bump, mound
- BLUE: ROLES OF TOM HANKS GUMP, PHILLIPS, SULLY, WOODY
- PURPLE: WORDS BEFORE “MINT” BLOW, JUNIOR, PEPPER, SPEAR
- My rating: Easy
- My rating: 1 error
After successfully getting the green group PROTUBERANCE (can we just pause to think about what a wonderful word protrusion is, please), I made the laziest of mistakes.
Thinking they all looked like sitcom supporting characters (based on the fact that one of them East) I guessed that SPIKE, WOODY, SULLY and JUNIOR were connected. The unusual nature of GUMP put me on the right track.
Meanwhile, WORDS BEFORE “MINT” seems like a very accessible purple band and a missed opportunity to add to my Purple First tally – kudos if you saw this before the other bands.
Answers from yesterday’s NYT Connections (Friday, February 13, match #978)
- YELLOW: COMPLETELY PURE, TRANSPARENT, STARK, TOTAL
- GREEN: PENNANT BANNER, COLORS, FLAG, STANDARD
- BLUE: CIGARETTE BRANDS CAMEL, KENT, PARLIAMENT, SALEM
- PURPLE: HOMOPHONES OF WAYS TO BECOME SMALLER LESSON, RESEED, SYNC, WAYNE
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.
