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Well, this is embarrassing. Sometime between me writing the original version of this edition and Saturday’s version of Connections going live, the NYT swapped out the puzzle. So, the hints and answers I initially had were for a completely different version of Connections.
My deepest apologies. I usually double check the game is the correct one before publishing the column but I did not do so this time. Because I was out watching the Scotland-Morocco game on Friday night (no spoilers for that here!!), I wasn’t able to fix this until now. And obviously I can’t go into subscribers’ emails and fix things there.
The intro and recommendation are the same as in the original version of the column, but the hints and answers are now correct. (I admit the hints are maybe not my best work since I’m trying to get this out ASAP.)
To make it up to you all for messing this up and spamming your inboxes with an extra email, I’m gonna try to write a non-Connections thing that I’ve had on my mind for Pastimes soon.
Which would result in me sending another email to you if you’re a Pastimes subscriber. You’re a subscriber, right?
Anyway, on with our regularly scheduled programming…
Hey there, Connectors! Welcome to the weekend!
I’m happy to be back with you after taking last weekend off from writing the column here. It wasn’t that much of a break, if I’m being honest. But something had to give during an intensely busy week and being able to reduce my workload by about 3% offered me a tiny bit of respite.
It was very weird to simply be playing Connections instead of writing about it as well, though the mental break was welcome. I’m not promising I won’t take time off again, but I’d like to keep things as consistent here as I can.
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, June 20 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...
CHAMPION
NEW YORK
KNICKS
JUMPIN'
ROCKER
KNAPSACK
BEANBAG
BOLSTER
JACKKNIFE
SUPPORT
KNOCK-KNOCK
LOUIE
BACK
STOOL
REBEL
RECLINER
The level one hints for today’s Connections groups are:
🟨 Yellow group — they contain an element that goes in different directions
🟩 Green group — got my vote
🟦 Blue group — take a load off
🟪 Purple group — nice enough to use twice
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 — KNICKS
🟩 Green group — BACK
🟦 Blue group — ROCKER
🟪 Purple group — LOUIE
What Are Today’s Connections Groups?
Need some extra help?
Today’s Connections groups are...
🟨 Yellow group — featuring silent and pronounced "K"s
🟩 Green group — endorse
🟦 Blue group — kinds of chairs
🟪 Purple group — words repeated in song titles
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 — featuring silent and pronounced "K"s (JACKKNIFE, KNAPSACK, KNICKS, KNOCK-KNOCK)
🟩 Green group — endorse (BACK, BOLSTER, CHAMPION, SUPPORT)
🟦 Blue group — kinds of chairs (BEANBAG, RECLINER, ROCKER, STOOL)
🟪 Purple group — words repeated in song titles (JUMPIN', LOUIE, NEW YORK, REBEL)
I got the yellows first thanks to KNAPSACK and KNOCK-KNOCK (CHAMPION, NEW YORK and KNICKS obviously weren't going together without a fourth relevant term). The chairs were next up. No problem there.
At that point, I saw what the greens would be. So of course I had to submit the purples first. I was able to figure out that category before submitting them.
Congrats to the KNICKS even though I am not mad at them for prompting a change in the game that complicated my evening.
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 can’t believe that, for all their impact over the years, Pussy Riot have only just released their first album. “Candy Dopamine” (which features Avenged Sevenfold) is a pretty decent track from the record:
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!
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