NYT Connections hints and answers for Saturday, August 30

Hey there, Connectors! Welcome to the weekend!

This week, I saw that Citizenfour was available to watch on YouTube for free, so I watched it for the first time. Nothing in the film was all too surprising — back in 2013, I was following Edward Snowden’s revelations pretty closely and writing about them — and it’s a better piece of journalism than it is a piece of cinema. But I was glad I watched it.

It was a sobering reminder that, unless we take careful steps to protect ourselves, nothing we do online is truly private. It was also a reminder (as if it were really needed) that certain figures in power would like to censor large parts of the internet.

I found it interesting to watch in the context of current laws and rules that are restricting access to online services unless we verify our ages or identities, especially in the UK (YouTube’s about to deploy its own AI age verification system in the US, as it happens). Some countries and jurisdictions have moved to ban young people from social media services, all under the pretext of protecting children.

I do agree that, used with no or few restrictions, social media services are no place for young people to be. But preventing access to them entirely inhibits kids’ freedom of speech and access to information, and the ability to find their communities online. I would have hated it if I wasn’t able to access certain websites and services when I was a teenager, not least because I met people I still consider friends today from all around the world.

There’s a lot more to be said about this topic (and hey, it would be great fodder for a Pastimes essay if I’m ever able to wrangle my thoughts into shape!). But if you’re not too familiar with Snowden’s revelations about the data that governments are vacuuming up on their citizens (and everyone else) or it’s been a while since you’ve thought about them, I’d recommend watching Citizenfour.

Before we begin, we have a great little community on Discord, where we chat about NYT Connections, the rest of the NYT games and all kinds of other stuff. Everyone who has joined has been lovely. It’s a fun hangout spot, and you’re more than welcome to join us.

Discord is also the best way to give me any feedback about the column, especially on the rare (or not-so-rare) occasions that I mess something up. I don’t look at Twitter much.

Today’s NYT Connections hints and answers for Saturday, August 30 are coming right up.

What Are Today’s Connections Hints?

Scroll slowly! Just after the hints for each of today’s Connections groups, I’ll reveal what the groups are without immediately telling you which words go into them.

Today’s 16 words are...

• BLOW

• GLASS

• FUNK

• STINK

• METAL

• ROCK

• BITE

• EAT

• CAGE

• EMO

• ENO

• RULE

• SLAY

• SUCK

• POP

• REICH

The level one hints for today’s Connections groups are:

• 🟨 Yellow group — 🎧

• 🟩 Green group — 👎

• 🟦 Blue group — 🥳🦾🙌

• 🟪 Purple group — 👨🎶

One Word For Each Connections Group

Be warned: we’re really starting to get into spoiler territory.

Let’s take a look at one word for each group.

Today’s Connections word hints are…

• 🟨 Yellow group — METAL

• 🟩 Green group — BLOW

• 🟦 Blue group — RULE

• 🟪 Purple group — GLASS

What Are Today’s Connections Groups?

Need some extra help?

Today’s Connections groups are...

• 🟨 Yellow group — music genres

• 🟩 Green group — not be good

• 🟦 Blue group — do exceptionally well

• 🟪 Purple group — contemporary composers

What Are Today’s Connections Answers?

Spoiler alert! Don’t scroll any further down the page until you’re ready to find out today’s Connections answers.

This is your final warning!

Today’s Connections answers are...

• 🟨 Yellow group — music genres (EMO, FUNK, METAL, POP)

• 🟩 Green group — not be good (BITE, BLOW, STINK, SUCK)

• 🟦 Blue group — do exceptionally well (EAT, ROCK, RULE, SLAY)

• 🟪 Purple group — contemporary composers (CAGE, ENO, GLASS, REICH)

The music genres jumped out here — FUNK, METAL, ROCK, EMO and POP — but I stayed clear of them at the outset.

The greens were easy enough, then the blues were a very clear flip side to those (EAT and SLAY being more contemporary terms that align with that category). That left the four music genres, which I figured had to be the yellows, and the inevitable purples. I clocked Brian ENO early on, and the rest had to refer to Philip GLASS, John CAGE and Steve REICH.

No real trouble with today's win, which extends my streak to (gosh) 183. Here's my grid for today:

🟩🟩🟩🟩 
🟦🟦🟦🟦 
🟪🟪🟪🟪 
🟨🟨🟨🟨

That’s all there is to it for today’s Connections clues and answers. Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter for hints and the solution for Sunday’s game if you need them.

P.S. Tempted though I am to recommend "4'33"" — an work of near-silent ambient sound by John Cage — I'm going to go with something from Philip Glass.

I really love Koyaanisqatsi, a poetic, experimental 1982 documentary directed by Godfrey Reggio that evokes the state of America in the early '80s. It’s still prescient, as it’s largely about the impact of technology. Glass did sterling work with the minimalist score of that film. I'd argue that he's equally as responsible for the success of Koyaanisqatsi as Reggio was.

It's arguably one of the most influential film scores of all time. Devoid of context from the visuals, it may not have quite the same impact, but I think the final movement of the score, "Prophecies," is still a moving piece:

Have a great day! Stay hydrated! Be kind to yourself and each other! Call someone you love!

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