NYT Connections hints and answers for Sunday, August 24

Hey there, Connectors! I hope you’ve had a fantastic weekend so far.

Real talk: I am pretty terrible at taking my own advice. Six years ago (how has it been that long???), I made the case that you should only pay for streaming services that you’re actually using at a given time. You can only watch one thing at any moment anyway.

Sure, you might need a couple of services for your favorite sports and/or live programming. If you want to be a part of the zeitgeist and be able to talk with your friends about the latest episode of a show, I get that too. Otherwise, wait until there are a few things you want to watch on a given streaming service, pay for a month of access, watch what you want and then cancel and move on.

I don’t do that. 😬

I realized this past week that I currently pay for nine(!) streaming video services:

• Netflix

• Crave (aka the Canadian HBO Max)

• Disney+

• Prime Video

• Fubo (for live football)

• Nebula

• YouTube Premium

• Starz (as a free add-on for my cheap TV plan)

• And an incredibly legal one that I would definitely not be all too happy to tell you about elsewhere

• (There’s also Apple TV+ but someone else covers that on a family plan lol)

That’s ridiculous! I definitely do not need all of that.

I ought to follow my own advice and save some money, especially since these are only getting more expensive. YouTube Premium is probably the most useful one to me, since I use YouTube all the time and there are so many gosh darn ads. Nebula is inexpensive (I think $36 US per year) and I’m too impatient to wait for new episodes of Jet Lag: The Game to hit YouTube — they show up on Nebula a week early.

Fubo is expensive, but worth it for an annual plan for Premier League and Serie A games. Technically, that last mystery option could just about replace all of the others, though Prime does have other benefits.

I should probably pare back. My Crave annual plan is up soon and I should cancel before it renews, and Disney+ runs until February. Netflix is generally really good though and just works across all my devices.

Actually, no. I’m still mad at them for removing the utterly brilliant Poinpy from their game library, making it literally impossible to play that slice of perfection. I’m cancelling Netflix.

Uhhh, I mean, I will right after I watch Hostage. And I’ll probably be back in November for Stranger Things anyway. And I’m lazy, so I may as well just keep my subscription going in the meantime?

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 Sunday, August 24 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...

• GLASS

• CORAL

• TORN

• CURTAIN

• RENT

• RATTLE

• COLD

• BOTTLE

• KING

• BOOTY

• CARAFE

• SPLIT

• CLOSE

• GARTER

• CLEFT

• DECANTER

And the level one hints for today’s Connections groups are:

• 🟨 Yellow group — into which Romans may have placed the nectar of the gods

• 🟩 Green group — no longer in one piece

• 🟦 Blue group — I’m ssssure you can figure this one out

• 🟪 Purple group — me, maybe?

One Word For Each Connections Group

Need some extra help? 

Be warned: we’re 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 — CARAFE

• 🟩 Green group — CLEFT

• 🟦 Blue group — KING

• 🟪 Purple group — COLD

What Are Today’s Connections Groups?

Today’s Connections groups are...

• 🟨 Yellow group — wine vessels

• 🟩 Green group — ripped

• 🟦 Blue group — kinds of snakes

• 🟪 Purple group — _____ call

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 — wine vessels (BOTTLE, CARAFE, DECANTER, GLASS)

• 🟩 Green group — ripped (CLEFT, RENT, SPLIT, TORN)

• 🟦 Blue group — kinds of snakes (CORAL, GARTER, KING, RATTLE)

• 🟪 Purple group — _____ call (BOOTY, CLOSE, COLD, CURTAIN)

Okay, let's do this! DECANTER was a clear lead in to the yellows, and the snakes weren't too much trouble either.

BOOTY caught my eye (I mean, uh, so to speak). Given that we recently had a group of words that refer to butts, I knew it was unlikely to be that. As I glanced over at CURTAIN, the purples became clear.

A BOOTY call is a text or phone call (typically made late at night) to set up a sexual encounter. It's also used to refer to said encounter, or a person with whom one regularly engages in such an activity. I don't make the rules, okay?

A CLOSE call refers to a narrow escape, usually to mean barely avoiding something unpleasant. A COLD call is a solicitation of a potential customer without prior contact, a tactic employed by telemarketers and door-to-door sales people. A CURTAIN call, meanwhile, comes at the end of a live performance wherein the performers return to the stage to receive plaudits from the audience and show their appreciation for people coming to see them.

The greens were a bit out there, no? I have not heard of RENT in this context and never would have made that association. I knew how the other three fit together, but that one seemed out of left field.

All the same, that's another perfect game in the books for your old chum, Kris. Win streak tally: 177. Here's my grid for today:

🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟪🟪🟪🟪
🟩🟩🟩🟩

That’s all there is to it for today’s Connections clues and answers. I’ll be back over at Forbes for the Monday-Friday editions for the column. And if you haven’t subscribed to Pastimes already, definitely do that! It would be super sweet of you.

P.S. Y’all know that I usually like to go with a more laidback song recommendation on Sundays. I can’t do that today. Not after my purple clue.

I know you’ve heard it. Doesn’t matter. I have to do it.

I can’t believe I haven’t used “Call Me Maybe” as a recommendation before??? I’m going to fix that right now with one of the best pop songs of the 21st century. And one from a Canadian icon, no less:

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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