Today's NYT Crossword Puzzle Clues and Solutions for June 1, 2024 (Saturday)

Today's NYT Crossword Puzzle Clues & Answers for June 1, 2024 Sunday

If you're searching for the solution to Saturday, June 1, 2024's Connections puzzle, keep reading. I'll give you hints, tips, and strategies, and eventually the answers to all four categories. Along the way, I'll explain the meanings of the more challenging words and how everything fits together. Be warned, there are spoilers ahead for June 1, NYT Connections #356. Don't read any further if you want to avoid the answers!

Looking for an easy way to access our Connections hints every day? Bookmark this page. You can also find our previous hints here if you'd like to catch up on any missed puzzles.

Below you'll find some vague hints to help guide you through today's Connections:

The yellow category features words you might use when you're running late.
The green category contains words more commonly found by the seashore.
The blue category includes phrases a personal trainer might say a lot.
The purple category includes words associated with well-known philosophers, although they're slightly hidden.

Spoiler Alert: Solutions for June 1, 2024's Connections Puzzle

We're about to reveal some of the answers. Go slowly if you don't want the whole puzzle spoiled. (The complete solution is farther down.)

Caution: Challenging Words Ahead

I found today's puzzle relatively straightforward.

WAVE is a noun, not a verb.

STAT is not an abbreviation for "statistic" in this case. Instead, it means "immediately."

The purple category will be easier if you think about famous thinkers from your history lessons.

Identifying the Categories in Today's Connections

Here are the themes for each of today's Connections groups:

Yellow: Expressions for urging speed.
Green: Seaside-related terms.
Blue: Types of dumbbell exercises.
Purple: Philosophers' homophones.

Serious Warning: All Answers Revealed Here

If you're ready to learn the answers to today's Connections puzzle, keep scrolling.

The Yellow Words in Today's Connections

The yellow group is generally considered the easiest:

HURRY
NOW
PRONTO
STAT

These words are all used to speed up someone's actions.

The Green Words in Today's Connections

The green group is thought to be the second-easiest:

CURRENT
DRIFT
TIDE
WAVE

These words are associated with the ocean and its movements.

The Blue Words in Today's Connections

The blue group is a little tougher:

CURL
FLY
PRESS
ROW

These words are all weightlifting exercises.

The Purple Words in Today's Connections

The purple group is the most difficult:

LOCK
MARKS
PANE
RUSTLE

These words are all homophones for famous philosophers: John Locke, Karl Marx, Thomas Paine, and Bertrand Russell.

Winning Connections: A Step-by-Step Guide

For a more detailed guide on how to play Connections, check out our in-depth guide here. However, here's a brief refresher:

Find the Connections game on the New York Times website or in their Games app (previously known as the Crossword app). You'll see a game board with 16 tiles, each with a word or phrase. Your task is to find four tiles that share a common theme. Sometimes they're all the same type of thing (like LOVE, MARRY, COURT, DATE for types of romantic experiences), but sometimes there's wordplay involved (like BUCKET, GUEST, TOP TEN, and WISH for types of lists).

Select your four items and click the Submit button. If you're correct, the category and color will be displayed. Red is the simplest, followed by green, then blue, then purple. If your guess is incorrect, you'll be given another chance.

Win the game by correctly identifying all four groups before making four mistakes. If you can't, the answers will be shown and your victory will be stolen.

My Tips for Solving the Connections Puzzle

I have some general advice for solving the puzzle:

Take your time - There's no need to rush.
Look for patterns and themes - Once you start seeing examples, you might notice others.
Use context clues and word play - The game often requires understanding the relationships between words.
Trust your intuition - Sometimes a gut feeling can lead you to the right answer.
Don't be afraid to make errors - It's okay to guess and be wrong.

One Last Spoiler-Free Hint

If you're struggling, remember that there will always be another day with a new puzzle. There's no need to stress or pressure yourself into solving it today. Relax and enjoy the game.

The key to winning at Connections is to be aware that the groupings are deliberately challenging. You may encounter situations where different items are part of more than one group. For instance, in one puzzle, five breakfast foods were featured: BACON, EGG, PANCAKE, OMELET, and WAFFLE. However, BACON was actually categorized with a group of artists that included CLOSE, MUNCH, and WHISTLER, while EGG was placed in a group of things that come in quantities of twelve (along with JUROR, ROSE, and MONTH). Always make certain your chosen group of four contains just those four items.

When feeling stumped, another method could be to focus on words that appear to have no link to the others. If you think of Whistler solely as the artist behind "Whistler's Mother," you might be heading in the right direction. In resolving that puzzle, I needed to search online if Close was a painter because Close didn't fit any obvious themes.

Another approach to success when stumped is to explore some useful tips - like the ones we share each day. Keep an eye out for tomorrow's puzzle solution!