Daily New York Times Crossword Clues for June 5, 2024: Solutions Included

Today's NYT Puzzle Hints (and Solution) for Wednesday, June 5, 2024

If you're searching for the solution to Wednesday, June 5th's Connections puzzle, read on. I'll be sharing clues, tips, and methods, and eventually the answers to all four categories. As you follow, I'll clarify the meanings of the more challenging words and show how each piece fits the puzzle. However, warning: there are spoilers ahead for June 5th's NYT Connections #360. Proceed if you want hints (and then the solution) to today's Connections game.

To easily access our Connections hints daily, bookmark this page. You can also find our past hints there, in case you missed a previous puzzle.

Here are some indirect hints towards today's Connections solutions:

Yellow category - Words you might use after receiving good news or spotting something interesting.
Green category - Categorical words.
Blue category - You might not have all the details, but you have a general sense.
Purple category - Foods you might find at Applebee's or another casual dining establishment.

Spoiler Alert: Answers to Today's Connections Puzzle Lie Ahead

We're about to reveal some of the answers. Move slowly if you don't want it all spoiled. (The complete solution is further down.)

A heads up about the challenging areas

Today's puzzle was relatively simple; there isn't much tricky wordplay involved.

KIND and NICE are words related to friendliness, but they don't belong together in this puzzle.

SICK doesn't refer to illness; it's a slang term indicating something's stylish or impressive. ("That jacket is sick!")

You'll have an easier time with today's purple category if you think in terms of fast food.

What are the categories in today's Connections?

Yellow: "AWESOME!"
Green: VARIETY
Blue: GIST
Purple: FRIED APPETIZER, INFORMALLY

Triple Warning: The Solutions to Today's Connections Puzzle Are Below

Excited to learn the answers to today's Connections puzzle? Here they are:

What are the yellow words in today's Connections?

The yellow theme revolves around amazingness. The yellow grouping's words are COOL, NICE, SICK, and SWEET.

What are the green words in today's Connections?

The green theme relates to groups, or collections. The green category's words are KIND, SORT, STYLE, and TYPE.

What are the blue words in today's Connections?

The blue theme involves summaries and key concepts. The blue grouping's words are DRIFT, IDEA, MESSAGE, and POINT.

What are the purple words in today's Connections?

The purple theme involves various finger foods at casual restaurants like Applebee's. The purple category's words are RING, STICK, TENDER, and WING.

How I Solved Today's Connections

COOL, NICE, SICK, and SWEET are all casual, positive exclamations. 🟨

KIND, STYLE, TYPE, and SORT are all synonyms for "category." 🟩

TENDER and WING made me think of certain types of chicken, but I couldn't find anything else fitting.

Maybe POINT, MESSAGE, IDEA, and DRIFT (as in, "catch my drift?") go together. 🟦

That leaves STICK, WING, RING, and TENDER. I was on the right track with the chicken idea, but it's actually various types of food typically found at fast food places: mozzarella STICK, chicken WING, onion RING, and chicken TENDER. 🟪

How to Play Connections

I have a full guide to playing Connections, but let me recap the rules:

First, find the Connections game on the New York Times website or within their Games app (previously known as the Crossword app). You'll see a gameboard with 16 tiles, each with a word or phrase. Your objective is to identify a group of four tiles that share something in common. Typically they are the same kind of thing (for example: RAIN, SLEET, HAIL, and SNOW are all types of precipitation), but sometimes there's wordplay involved (for example, BUCKET, GUEST, TOP TEN, and WISH are all types of lists).

Select four items and hit the Submit button. If your guess is correct, the category and color will be disclosed. (Yellow is the easiest, followed by green, then blue, then purple.) If your guess was incorrect, you'll get another chance.

Successfully identifying all four groups wins you the game, but if you make four errors prior to completing the game, it will end and the correct answers will be disclosed.

Strategies for Winning Connections

Winning Connections is not very straightforward because the groupings are purposely made to be challenging. Expect to encounter overlapping groups. For instance, you'll come across a challenge with six breakfast items: BACON, EGG, PANCAKE, OMELET, WAFFLE, and CEREAL. Nevertheless, BACON actually belongs to a group of painters (along with CLOSE, MUNCH, and WHISTLER), and EGG is part of a group of things that come in groups of twelve (along with JUROR, ROSE, and MONTH). Therefore, double-check that your group of four comprises only those four items before you submit your answer.

If you're at a loss, try considering words that seem to have no connection to the others. If WHISTLER evokes in your mind only the painting titled "Whistler's Mother," you might be on the right track. When I managed to solve that, I ended up searching online to see whether there was a painter called Close, since Close didn't seem to fit into any obvious themes.

Another helpful tactic when you're stumped is to read some helpful hints, which is why we provide these tips each day. Make sure to visit tomorrow for the next puzzle!