Today's NYT Connections Hints (and Answer) for Saturday, July 20, 2024
If you’re looking for the Connections answer for Saturday, July 20, 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 20, NYT Connections #405! 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 - How you might describe the movements of a skilled dancer, for example.
- Green category - Put your back into it!
- Blue category - Your phone will shut off if it doesn’t have enough.
- Purple category - These words can all be described with the same three-letter word that’s kind of like “explode”—in some cases it’s a noun, and in some cases it’s a verb.
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
There are several words on the board that are synonymous with EFFORT, so make sure you are certain of your guesses before you submit.
SODA, JUICE, and SWEAT are FLUIDs, but they all belong to different categories.
You’ll have an easier time with today’s purple category if you think about the various regional terms people in the United States use to refer to SODA.
What are the categories in today’s Connections?
- Yellow: EFFORTLESS
- Green: EXERTION
- Blue: ENERGY FOR AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE
- Purple: WHAT “POP” MIGHT MEAN
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 EFFORTLESS and the words are: FLUID, GRACEFUL, NATURAL, SMOOTH.
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 EXERTION and the words are: EFFORT, LABOR, SWEAT, WORK.
What are the blue words in today’s Connections?
The blue grouping is the second-hardest. The theme for today’s blue category is ENERGY FOR AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE and the words are: BATTERY, CHARGE, JUICE, POWER.
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 WHAT “POP” MIGHT MEAN and the words are: BURST, DAD, MAINSTREAM, SODA.
How I solved today’s Connections
Upon first glance, I’m seeing a few groups of synonyms start to emerge, so let’s see if they are solid enough to submit.
I think FLUID, SMOOTH, GRACEFUL, and NATURAL might all go together as words referring to someone with controlled, dancer-like movement. NATURAL is the one that I think might not be totally aligned with the others, but I feel good enough to try it. 🟨 Yay.
OK, next I think EFFORT, POWER, WORK, and LABOR go together as words referring to physical output. “One away.” Oops. Oh, I bet SWEAT or JUICE fit in there—not sure what to get rid of yet. I’ll come back to this one.
Oh, I bet POWER, BATTERY, JUICE, and CHARGE go together as words referring to the lifespan of an electronic device. 🟦
That means WORK, SWEAT, LABOR, and EFFORT are the words in that output category. 🟩
That leaves SODA, BURST, DAD, and MAINSTREAM. Hmm, that’s an odd group. Maybe a fill-in-the-blank? SODA bubble and BURST bubble make sense, but that doesn’t fit with the other two. Wow, I have no idea. Let’s see what the connection is. 🟪 WHAT “POP” MIGHT MEAN. Ah, very clever. Pop is a synonym for burst; you might call your dad “pop” or “papa”; mainstream is synonymous with “pop” or “popular”; and some (wrong) people call soda “pop.”
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 victories with friends, discussing the challenges and fun moments experienced during the game. (entertainment, connections)
For those eager to take on the Connections challenge, bookmarking the New York Times Connections page is an excellent idea, ensuring easy access to daily hints and solutions. (connections, nyt connections)
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