Today's NYT Connections Hints (and Answer) for Monday, July 1, 2024
If you’re looking for the Connections answer for Monday, July 1, 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 1, NYT Connections #386! 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 - If you need assistance getting somewhere, someone might do these things to help you.
- Green category - Words for a shady setup.
- Blue category - Associated with American money.
- Purple category - Related to the geography of America’s neighbor up north.
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
USHER, STING, SEAL, and PRINCE have nothing to do with the mononymous singers.
I needed this Wikipedia article about Canada to help with today’s purple category. (American education, you’ve failed me again.)
You may also want to refer to this article about American money to help with today’s blue category.
What are the categories in today’s Connections?
- Yellow: SHOW THE WAY
- Green: SCHEME
- Blue: SEEN ON A U.S. DOLLAR BILL
- Purple: FIRST WORDS OF CANADIAN PROVINCES/TERRITORIES
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 SHOW THE WAY and the words are: DIRECT, GUIDE, LEAD, USHER.
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 SCHEME and the words are: CON, HUSTLE, RACKET, SCHEME.
What are the blue words in today’s Connections?
The blue grouping is the second-hardest. The theme for today’s blue category is SEEN ON A U.S. DOLLAR BILL and the words are: EAGLE, PYRAMID, SEAL, WASHINGTON.
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 FIRST WORDS OF CANADIAN PROVINCES/TERRITORIES and the words are: BRITISH, NORTHWEST, NOVA, PRINCE.
How I solved today’s Connections
When I see the word PYRAMID, I think “pyramid scheme,” and that looks like it could fit with RACKET, CON, HUSTLE, and maybe STING. I’ll keep looking just to be safe.
Oh, I bet PRINCE, STING, SEAL, and USHER go together—they’re all names of mononymous singers. Nope! That’s a miss.
Hmm, how about DIRECT, LEAD, USHER, and GUIDE, which are all pretty straightforward synonyms. 🟨
Let’s try RACKET, CON, HUSTLE, and STING. 🟩
I wonder if EAGLE and PYRAMID go together as symbols on American money. That would go with SEAL (as in a stamp or symbol) and maybe WASHINGTON? 🟦
That leaves NORTHWEST, PRINCE, NOVA, and BRITISH. That’s an odd group. Wow, I have no idea what the connection is here. Let’s see. 🟪The first words of Canadian provinces/territories, eh? I guess that would be Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, and Northwest Territories. That’s a tough one.
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 reading the clues and solutions, you might find it helpful to bookmark this page for easy access to future Connections hints. Additionally, if you're having trouble with the blue category, you might find this article about American money useful.
Today's Connections categories include:
- Yellow: SHOW THE WAY (DIRECT, GUIDE, LEAD, USHER)
- Green: SCHEME (CON, HUSTLE, RACKET, SCHEME)
- Blue: SEEN ON A U.S. DOLLAR BILL (EAGLE, PYRAMID, SEAL, WASHINGTON)
- Purple: FIRST WORDS OF CANADIAN PROVINCES/TERRITORIES (BRITISH, NORTHWEST, NOVA, PRINCE)
If you need help with the purple category, you might find this Wikipedia article about Canada useful. Today's Connections answers offer a mix of straightforward and tricky categories, so make sure to think outside the box and consider all possible connections.
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