Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need clues.
What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Wordle hints and answers, Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
NYT Connections today (game #485) - today's words
Today's NYT Connections words are…
- CANE
- BLOCK
- ACCIDENTAL
- SPIDER
- BAR
- STAFF
- APPLE
- NOTE
- BAT
- BAN
- PUMPKIN
- CORN
- FORBID
- WITCH
- REST
- DENY
NYT Connections today (game #485) - hint #1 - group hints
What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?
- Yellow: October holiday favorites
- Green: Not allowed
- Blue: Members of an orchestra will recognize them
- Purple: [sweet thing] blank
Need more clues?
We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…
NYT Connections today (game #485) - hint #2 - group answers
What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: HALLOWEEN SYMBOLS
- GREEN: PROHIBIT
- BLUE: FOUND ON SHEET MUSIC
- PURPLE: CANDY ___
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Connections today (game #485) - the answers
The answers to today's Connections, game #485, are…
- YELLOW: HALLOWEEN SYMBOLS BAT, PUMPKIN, SPIDER, WITCH
- GREEN: PROHIBIT BAN, BLOCK, DENY, FORBID
- BLUE: FOUND ON SHEET MUSIC ACCIDENTAL, NOTE, REST, STAFF
- PURPLE: CANDY ___ APPLE, BAR, CANE, CORN
- My rating: Easy
- My score: Perfect
A much easier one today than yesterday's near-impossible Connections. I solved all four without making any mistakes, and I suspect many of you will have done too.
Yellow, HALLOWEEN SYMBOLS, was particularly easy – with the task of finding BAT, PUMPKIN, SPIDER and WITCH only mildly complicated by the presence of APPLE, which also has some Halloween connotations (apple bobbing, anyone?). APPLE was instead part of the CANDY ___ group, together with BAR, CANE and CORN. This was the purple connection, and it was actually the first one I got. That's always an advantage when it comes to completing this game, because with that out of the way there's rarely any truly difficult groups. That said, I don't think I'd have completed blue today – I've never played a musical instrument, so FOUND ON SHEET MUSIC might well have remained out of my mental reach. Fortunately, it didn't matter today.
How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.
Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Monday, 7 October, game #484)
- YELLOW: KNUCKLEHEAD DING-DONG, DODO, YAHOO, YO-YO
- GREEN: CAR ONOMATOPOEIA BEEP BEEP, PURR, SKRRT, VROOM
- BLUE SOUNDS OF LAUGHTER HAR-HAR, HOOT, WHOOP, YUK
- PURPLE: FAMOUS PRIMATES BUBBLES, GEORGE, KING KONG, KOKO
What is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.
On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.
It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.
It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
