
Gif by paramountplus on Giphy
Hey there, Connectors! Welcome to the weekend!
We're only 14 days away from the 1,000th edition of Connections. I could start going on about how much I enjoy this game and what it means to me and how much writing about it has changed my life and how much I love the community we've built around Connections and my column.
But I'm not gonna do that.
Not yet anyway.
Because this song popped into my head the other day and I had to go look it up. The lyrics are a hair too spicy for me to use this song as a recommendation in the Forbes version of the column.
I'm mainly sharing this with you here and now because I need to get it out of my head. Writing about things that are stuck in my skull can help me to purge them.
It's a catchy song. That beat is an all-timer.
But I had forgotten just how bizarre the video for early 2000s hit "Be Faithful" by Fatman Scoop actually was:
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, February 21 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...
LATE
GREAT
PAST
LIFE
PRESENT
MINION
INFINITIVE
PERFECT
SOLID
DODGERS
EXCUSED
BACKGROUND
ABSENT
AUDITS
HISTORY
PHEW
The level one hints for today’s Connections groups are:
🟨 Yellow group — been through it
🟩 Green group — [YouTube link]
🟦 Blue group — what you see at the end
🟪 Purple group — revving up beyond the usual limits
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 — LIFE
🟩 Green group — LATE
🟦 Blue group — PERFECT
🟪 Purple group — MINION
What Are Today’s Connections Groups?
Need some extra help?
Today’s Connections groups are...
🟨 Yellow group — experience
🟩 Green group — attendance status
🟦 Blue group — commentary about your Connections results
🟪 Purple group — car brands plus two letters
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 — experience (BACKGROUND, HISTORY, LIFE, PAST)
🟩 Green group — attendance status (ABSENT, EXCUSED, LATE, PRESENT)
🟦 Blue group — commentary about your Connections results (GREAT, PERFECT, PHEW, SOLID)
🟪 Purple group — car brands plus two letters (AUDITS, DODGERS, INFINITIVE, MINION)
I got the greens handled very quickly. No problem there at all. Same thing for the yellows.
I figured SOLID, GREAT and PERFECT would go together. I didn't see what else might fit, so I tried PHEW. Haha, good one, Wyna. I'm usually too busy taking notes to pay attention to the message that pops up at the end of each day's game, so this didn't really click for me.
The purples were beyond me too. I was thinking of "draft DODGERS" and yellow things in the case of MINION. These refer to Audi, Dodge, Infiniti and Mini.
I think I was lucky to get a perfect game today. I'll take a 357th win in a row all the same.
How did you get on today? Here's my grid:
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟪🟪🟪🟪
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. I listened to this song a bunch back in, like, 2006-08 and it re-appeared in my memory recently. The band is called Of Montreal and the track is called “Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games.” It’s a fun indie pop song that’s easy to dance to. That rising bassline in the intro and chorus will live in my head forever. The video holds up really well after all this time too:
Have a great day! Stay hydrated! Be kind to yourself and each other! Call someone you love!
On weekdays, you can find this column over at Forbes. Please follow my blog there for more coverage of NYT Connections and other word games, and even some video game news, insights and analysis. It helps me out a lot!
Sharing this column with other people who play Connections would be appreciated too. Also, subscribe to this newsletter if you haven’t already!

