The latest New York Times Connections puzzle (#923) is live, and if you’re stuck, you’ve come to the right place. This guide provides hints and full answers for all four categories: yellow, green, blue, and purple. The game challenges players to group 16 words into four sets of four, based on shared themes.
Decoding Today’s Categories
The difficulty varies. The yellow category is generally the easiest, while purple often requires the most lateral thinking. The Times now offers a Connections Bot that analyzes your solving progress, tracking win rates and streaks for registered players.
Hints for Each Group
Here are clues, ranked from easiest to hardest:
- Yellow: Think about how you store things.
- Green: Relates to household cleaning.
- Blue: Focuses on a specific era of British music.
- Purple: A common phrase paired with the word “rock.”
The Full Answers
Here’s how the puzzle breaks down:
- Yellow Group (Containers): Bucket, can, drum, tin. These are all common objects used for storage.
- Green Group (Laundry Services): Dry, fold, press, wash. All actions performed in professional laundry services.
- Blue Group (British Bands, 1970s): Clash, Cure, Damned, Fall. All influential British bands formed in the 1970s and beginning with “The.”
- Purple Group (Rock ____): Bottom, lobster, music, salt. A quirky combination that completes the phrase “rock [blank]”.
Previous Difficult Puzzles
The NYT Connections has a history of challenging puzzles. Some of the most difficult so far include:
- Puzzle #5: “Things you can set” (mood, record, table, volleyball).
- Puzzle #4: “One in a dozen” (egg, juror, month, rose).
- Puzzle #3: “Streets on screen” (Elm, Fear, Jump, Sesame).
- Puzzle #2: “Power ___” (nap, plant, Ranger, trip).
- Puzzle #1: “Things that can run” (candidate, faucet, mascara, nose).
These examples demonstrate how the puzzle often relies on obscure connections rather than straightforward definitions. The game’s difficulty is designed to encourage players to think creatively and recognize unconventional patterns.
