Today's NYT Connections Hints and Answer for April 15 (#309)

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Connections is a game from the New York Times that challenges you to find the association between words. It sounds easy, but it isn't—Connections categories can be almost anything, and they're usually quite specific. If you need a hand getting the answers, we've got you covered.

What Is Connections?

Connections is a game from the New York Times. The objective is simple: sort 16 words into groups of 4. Each group of words will be connected by some common idea or theme. That common element could be anything. We have seen everything from games that rely on the number of letters in the words to categories that require you to spot an extra letter at the end of the word. Sometimes they're references to economics, other times they reference fairy tales. There is no telling what sort of association there will be between words.

Once you're confident you understand the connection, select 4 words, then hit "Submit." You have only four attempts in total, so don't be too guess-happy.

Hints for Today's Connections Categories

Here are a few small hints for the 309th Connections game to get you started:

Yellow: Flying by the seat of your pants.
Green: Very, very young.
Blue: Skin-deep.
Purple: Not to be confused with affect.

What Are Today's Connections Categories?

If you still need help, the actual categories are:

Yellow: Invent As You Go
Green: Things Babies Do
Blue: Superficial
Purple: ___ Effect

Today's NYT Connections Answers

Invent As You Go (Yellow):

Ad-Lib, Freestyle, Improv, Make Up

Things Babies Do (Green):

Babble, Coo, Crawl, Nurse

Superficial (Blue):

Cosmetic, External, Shallow, Surface

____ Effect (Purple):

Butterfly, Domino, Placebo, Side

How Did We Solve This Connections Game?

April 15th felt somewhat easier than usual, even the Purple category, which is known for being difficult.

At first glance, we linked butterfly and placebo to "butterfly effect" and "placebo effect," and from there, we just tried placing "effect" after the rest of the words. We settled on side and domino, which finished Purple. The category, as you may expect, was just "____ Effect."

Next, we noticed that cosmetic, shallow, and surface are all terms related to superficiality. Of the remaining words, external is probably the only one that comes close to matching that theme. Those 4 words were "Superficial" (Blue).

The remaining words aren't too bad, either.

Ad-lib, freestyle, improv, and make up are all ways of expressing the same idea, so we stuck them together. They made up the Yellow category, which was "Invent As You Go."

That left just babble, coo, crawl, and nurse; all things that infants do. Connections opted to call it "Things Babies Do," rather than infants, but we got pretty close.

How Do You Guess Connections Categories?

There is no quick, reliable way to approach Connections like there is with Wordle, since Connections isn't algorithmic. However, there are a few things to keep in mind that can help.

Look for similar parts of speech. Are some words verbs and others nouns? Are some adjectives? Try mentally grouping them based on those categories and see if any other patterns jump out at you.

Are the words synonyms? Sometimes categories will just be synonyms for a phrase, or very close to synonyms. Don't rely too closely on this, though. Occasionally, Connections will deliberately throw in words that are sometimes synonyms to mislead you.

Try saying the words. Sometimes, saying the words helps. One puzzle we saw included the words go, rate, faster, clip, pace, speed, move, commute, and hurry—all of which are obviously related to the idea of motion. However, when you say them, it becomes a little more obvious that only four (go, move, hurry, faster) are things you'd actually say to prompt someone to get moving.

Expect the red herring. Connections usually has words that could be plausibly, yet incorrectly, grouped together. Take the words Bud, Corona, and Light, as an example. You might instinctively see those three words together and assume they're lumped together in a category related to beer—but they weren't.

Look for distinct words. If a word on your board doesn't have multiple meanings or can really only be used in one context, try using that word as the basis for a category.

Shuffle the board. Sometimes, moving words around will help you look at them in new ways.

If you didn't solve this one, don't feel too bad—there's always tomorrow! And those words may align with a topic you're interested in, giving you a leg up on the competition.

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