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Hey there, Connectors! Welcome to the weekend!
I’m way behind on my usual podcasts. I used to keep up with four or five shows every week, but I haven’t listened to a couple of them for over a year.
I typically listen to podcasts when I’m out walking, and I haven’t been doing nearly enough of that in recent times. So with nice weather finally here and a need to exercise, it’s beyond time for me to get out and about more regularly.
Having a goal in mind helps with that. If I have somewhere to go and it’s not too far away, I’ll try to get there on foot and give myself plenty of time to do so. And then I can really start burning through more of my podcast backlog (listening to them at 2x speed helps with zipping through them too!).
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, May 23 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...
FIRST
EMPIRE
LAST
BEEHIVE
HAWKEYE
SOONER
FORCE
WOLVERINE
PHANTOM
POMPADOUR
DAREDEVIL
RATHER
CHIGNON
NIGHTCRAWLER
PREFERABLY
BOUFFANT
The level one hints for today’s Connections groups are:
🟨 Yellow group — all set up top
🟩 Green group — before the other stuff, perhaps
🟦 Blue group — like punisher, sentry and beast
🟪 Purple group — rise, clone and clones would fit in here
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 — BEEHIVE
🟩 Green group — PREFERABLY
🟦 Blue group — NIGHTCRAWLER
🟪 Purple group — FORCE
What Are Today’s Connections Groups?
Need some extra help?
Today’s Connections groups are...
🟨 Yellow group — hairdos
🟩 Green group — more readily
🟦 Blue group — Marvel characters
🟪 Purple group — words after "the" in Star Wars movie 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 — hairdos (BEEHIVE, BOUFFANT, CHIGNON, POMPADOUR)
🟩 Green group — more readily (FIRST, PREFERABLY, RATHER, SOONER)
🟦 Blue group — Marvel characters (DAREDEVIL, HAWKEYE, NIGHTCRAWLER, WOLVERINE)
🟪 Purple group — words after "the" in Star Wars movie titles (EMPIRE, FORCE, LAST, PHANTOM)
I got the Marvel characters right away. The PHANTOM is also a superhero, but it’s not from Marvel.
CHIGNON was one I didn't know, but it made sense with the rest of the yellows. So I got those sorted.
Once I was down to the final eight words and saw PHANTOM and EMPIRE, the purples gelled together for me (The Empire Strikes Back, The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi and The Phantom Menace). I also recognized the green category before submitting that group.
I suspect this'll be a tricky one for many folks, not least because there are two pop culture categories on the board. In any case, I extended my streak with a 447th straight win.
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 had considered going to see The Buzzcocks last weekend at a free outdoor show at a festival, but I ended up staying home to watch hockey. I was still recovering from a concert the night before and I wanted to spend time with my partner (the Habs lost that game 8-3 in a dismal showing lmao).
The Buzzcocks’ “Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)” is an an-time great song of any genre, not just punk, so I offer it up to you now:
Have a great day! Stay hydrated! Be kind to yourself and each other! Call someone you love!
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