The latest edition of The New York Times Connections, the daily word puzzle from The Athletic, challenges players to group words based on shared themes. Today’s puzzle (#419) focuses on sports-related terms. If you’re stuck, here’s a breakdown of hints and the complete answers.
Puzzle Overview
Connections is designed to test your pattern recognition skills. The game presents sixteen words that fall into four distinct categories of four. The difficulty lies in identifying these hidden connections. The Athletic publishes this puzzle as a separate offering from the NYT Games app, making it accessible via The Athletic ‘s app or online for free.
Hints by Category
The puzzle’s categories range from relatively straightforward to highly obscure. Here are hints, ordered from easiest to hardest:
- Yellow Group: Focuses on physical activity you might do indoors.
- Green Group: Relates to sports teams located in one U.S. state.
- Blue Group: Refers to locations commonly used for competitive events.
- Purple Group: Features teams visually linked by a specific piece of sports equipment.
Complete Answers
The following reveals the solutions for each category:
- Yellow Group (At-Home Exercise Equipment): bike, jump rope, treadmill, yoga mat.
- Green Group (North Carolina Teams): Hornets, Hurricanes, Panthers, Wake Forest.
- Blue Group (Settings for Races): circuit, swimming pool, track, velodrome.
- Purple Group (Teams with Basketball in Logo): 76ers, Heat, Knicks, Suns.
Challenging Puzzle Trends
Recent Connections puzzles have trended toward niche sports knowledge. Some of the most difficult categories highlighted by players include obscure European soccer clubs (Series A Clubs), WNBA award winners (WNBA MVPs), and Premier League team nicknames. This suggests The Athletic is testing the depth of players’ sports expertise.
The difficulty of Connections puzzles varies widely based on the player’s familiarity with specific sports. Staying informed about global competitions and niche teams can provide an edge.
Ultimately, the puzzle’s appeal lies in its combination of accessible gameplay and occasional head-scratching difficulty.
