NYT Connections hints and answers for Saturday, November 29

What a relief!

Hey there, Connectors! Welcome to the weekend!

Sometimes, when I’m browsing YouTube, a song that’s just been released from an artist I’ve never heard of pops up in my recommendations. I might give it a listen. But these days, I have to do my due diligence to make sure that the song is actually from a real artist and not AI nonsense. If I’m not sure, I certainly won’t recommend it.

That sprang to mind this week when I learned about a song by a production duo called Haven. Their song “I Run” blew up on TikTok (apparently, I don’t use that app) and it was making a splash on Spotify. According to Complex, it seemed set to land on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.

However, “dozens” of takedown notices were filed against the song. It was “removed and reuploaded to streaming services multiple times,” according to Billboard, which has blocked the track from its charts.

There were accusations that AI was heavily used in the production of the track. Haven conceded that there was “AI-assisted vocal processing” involved. Per Complex (and a press release I received), Harrison Walker of Haven sang on the original track and then the vocals were “processed to sound feminine using AI-assisted tools, a creative choice that became central to a larger industry conversation.”

Gross! I hate it! Why not just hire a female vocalist to perform it in the first place if that’s the sound Haven was going for? In fact, that’s what the pair ended up doing, as a new version of the song features a performance from singer Kaitlin Aragon. I feel a little more comfortable about linking to that version, but it’s honestly a pretty snoozy house track anyway.

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, November 29 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...

• BUST

• SPLIT

• TREE

• TRUNK

• RELIEF

• PIGEON

• STAND

• STATUE

• COVER

• TORSO

• SUBSTITUTE

• CORE

• MIDSECTION

• BACKUP

• BENCH

• HIT

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

• 🟨 Yellow group — success sometimes takes a lot of guts

• 🟩 Green group — better hope these are as capable as the starters

• 🟦 Blue group — often seen in public green spaces

• 🟪 Purple group — be careful if you're counting what's happening, else you might be 86'd. First base and double down also 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 — TRUNK

• 🟩 Green group — COVER

• 🟦 Blue group — STATUE

• 🟪 Purple group — HIT

What Are Today’s Connections Groups?

Need some extra help?

Today’s Connections groups are...

• 🟨 Yellow group — abdominal area

• 🟩 Green group — replacement

• 🟦 Blue group — park staples

• 🟪 Purple group — blackjack terms

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 — abdominal area (CORE, MIDSECTION, TORSO, TRUNK)

• 🟩 Green group — replacement (BACKUP, COVER, RELIEF, SUBSTITUTE)

• 🟦 Blue group — park staples (BENCH, PIGEON, STATUE, TREE)

• 🟪 Purple group — blackjack terms (BUST, HIT, SPLIT, STAND)

The yellows were first up for me today. I wondered if CORE might have matched with HIT in terms of types of workouts, but I went with my gut (pun absolutely intended) and got my first group of the day. (The workout is called HIIT anyway!)

Zero issues with the greens too. BENCH could have fit in here, but I wasn't feeling it, y'know?

I recognized the purples next. I did wonder for a second if BUST, STATUE and BENCH might go together in the sense of physical objects that pay tribute to someone, but the degenerate gambler in me won out (even though I never play blackjack).

That left the blues for a relatively straightforward win (Not too thrilled about that hint, sorry. My brain is frazzled from working on Black Friday deals.). My 273rd in a row, in fact.

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 asked my voice assistant to play a Gerry and the Pacemakers song the other day, and my music streaming service continued with a batch of tracks from yesteryear. "Good Good Lovin" by The Merseybeats was one of them. I hadn't heard it before, but I dug it very much and now you can listen to it too!

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

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