Today's NYT Connections Hints (and Answer) for Friday, July 26, 2024
If you’re looking for the Connections answer for Friday, July 26, 2024, read on—I’ll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solutions to all four categories. Along the way, I’ll explain the meanings of the trickier words and we’ll learn how everything fits together. Beware, there are spoilers below for July 26, NYT Connections #411! Read on if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today’s Connections game.
If you want an easy way to come back to our Connections hints every day, bookmark this page. You can also find our past hints there as well, in case you want to know what you missed in a previous puzzle.
Below, I’ll give you some oblique hints at today’s Connections answers. And farther down the page, I’ll reveal the themes and the answers. Scroll slowly and take just the hints you need!
Credit: Connections/NYT
Hints for the themes in today’s Connections puzzle
Here are some spoiler-free hints for the groupings in today’s Connections:
- Yellow category - Which way?
- Green category - An outgoing representative might do this for someone vying for their seat.
- Blue category - Reasons not to do something.
- Purple category - Words that sound like something else when said aloud.
BEWARE: Spoilers follow for today’s Connections puzzle!
We’re about to give away some of the answers. Scroll slowly if you don’t want the whole thing spoiled. (The full solution is a bit further down.)
A heads up about the tricky parts
CHAMPION is a verb.
Think of CON in terms of “pros and cons.”
What are the categories in today’s Connections?
- Yellow: BASIC DIRECTIONS
- Green: ADVOCATE FOR
- Blue: DRAWBACK
- Purple: INSTRUMENT HOMOPHONES
DOUBLE BEWARE: THE SOLUTION IS BELOW
Ready to learn the answers to today’s Connections puzzle? I give them all away below.
What are the yellow words in today’s Connections?
The yellow grouping is considered to be the most straightforward. The theme for today’s yellow group is BASIC DIRECTIONS and the words are: DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, UP.
What are the green words in today’s Connections?
The green grouping is supposed to be the second-easiest. The theme for today’s green category is ADVOCATE FOR and the words are: BACK, CHAMPION, ENDORSE, SUPPORT.
What are the blue words in today’s Connections?
The blue grouping is the second-hardest. The theme for today’s blue category is DRAWBACK and the words are: CON, DING, MINUS, STRIKE.
What are the purple words in today’s Connections?
The purple grouping is considered to be the hardest. The theme for today’s purple category is INSTRUMENT HOMOPHONES and the words are: BASE, LIAR, LOOT, SYMBOL.
How I solved today’s Connections
LIAR and CON next to each other feels like an intentional misdirect, because they are similar words but different forms of speech—it would have to be something like LIE and CON (verbs) or LIAR and CON ARTIST (nouns) for it to make sense.
Instead, I notice that CHAMPION and SUPPORT have similar meetings, and that those could fit with BACK and ENDORSE. I do a quick scan for other synonyms that would fit into this category, and I see none. 🟩
If I think of CON as the opposite of the word “pro,” then it fits with MINUS, STRIKE, and DING, which are all words that refer to negative factors of something. 🟦
I’m tempted to put UP, DOWN, LEFT, and RIGHT together, but that feels a little too obvious, so I’m going to see if I can make a category with the other four words first.
We have LIAR, SYMBOL, LOOT, and BASE. Oh, those are all homophones for instruments: lyre, cymbal, lute, bass. 🟪
That leaves RIGHT, DOWN, UP, LEFT. 🟨
How to play Connections
I have a full guide to playing Connections, but here’s a refresher on the rules:
First, find the Connections game either on the New York Times website or in their Games app (formerly the Crossword app). You’ll see a game board with 16 tiles, each with one word or phrase. Your job is to select a group of four tiles that have something in common. Often they are all the same type of thing (for example: RAIN, SLEET, HAIL, and SNOW are all types of wet weather) but sometimes there is wordplay involved (for example, BUCKET, GUEST, TOP TEN, and WISH are all types of lists: bucket list, guest list, and so on).
Select four items and hit the Submit button. If you guessed correctly, the category and color will be revealed. (Yellow is easiest, followed by green, then blue, then purple.) If your guess was incorrect, you’ll get a chance to try again.
You win when you’ve correctly identified all four groups. But if you make four mistakes before you finish, the game ends and the answers are revealed.
How to win Connections
The most important thing to know to win Connections is that the groupings are designed to be tricky. Expect to see overlapping groups. For example, one puzzle seemed to include six breakfast foods: BACON, EGG, PANCAKE, OMELET, WAFFLE, and CEREAL. But BACON turned out to be part of a group of painters along with CLOSE, MUNCH, and WHISTLER, and EGG was in a group of things that come by the dozen (along with JUROR, ROSE, and MONTH). So don’t hit “submit” until you’ve confirmed that your group of four contains only those four things.
If you’re stuck, another strategy is to look at the words that seem to have no connection to the others. If all that comes to mind when you see WHISTLER is the painting nicknamed “Whistler’s Mother,” you might be on to something. When I solved that one, I ended up googling whether there was a painter named Close, because Close didn’t fit any of the obvious themes, either.
Another way to win when you’re stuck is, obviously, to read a few helpful hints–which is why we share these pointers every day. Check back tomorrow for the next puzzle!
After solving the Connections puzzle, you might want to share your success with friends or discuss the answers with fellow game enthusiasts through your social media networks. The entertaining nature of the game makes it a great topic for conversation.
Furthermore, if you're looking for more intellectual challenges, you could explore other NYT Connection answers using the 'NYT connections answer today' search term on various connection answer websites. These websites often have a wealth of information and connections answers from past puzzles, providing ample opportunities to enhance your knowledge and engage with the connections community.
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