NYT Connections hints and answers for Sunday, December 7

(Not the kind of barrel roll I was looking for but that’s neat!)

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

It’s gonna be a busy week on my end for a number of reasons, including The Game Awards on Thursday. The folks behind that event try to position it as the Oscars of the games industry, but it’s really more like the Golden Globes, since the winners are determined by the gaming press and the public (I don’t participate in voting on either side, to be clear, but my colleagues at Engadget used to be part of the jury).

While it’s always nice to honor the great work of developers (and the show could absolutely do a better job of giving the winners more time in the spotlight), most people tune for video game announcements. Most of the two-hour running time is taken up with trailers. Some of these are chosen for inclusion by The Game Awards’ editorial team, in large part because the show needs news about high-profile games to keep viewers coming back. Others are effectively ad slots that, by my understanding, cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Game Awards has its issues, for sure, but it’s always a newsworthy show, and I’m looking forward to blogging the major announcements alongside my Engadget colleagues. I know a few of the things that will be revealed (I’m very excited for one of them) and I’m excited to see what else is on deck this year.

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, December 7 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...

• GIZZARD

• GRECO

• MORTISE

• HURTLE

• DADO

• BARREL

• HEART

• TEAR

• TONGUE

• BOLT

• DORADO

• DOVETAIL

• PASO

• MITRE

• TRIPE

• CAPITAL

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

• 🟨 Yellow group — as a certain blue hedgehog might say, gotta go fast!

• 🟩 Green group — it takes a lot of guts to stomach ‘em

• 🟦 Blue group — Nick Offerman and Harrison Ford would know all about these

• 🟪 Purple group — one may (okay, definitely) read this nickname of Stranger Things' superhero in an article

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 — HURTLE

• 🟩 Green group — TONGUE

• 🟦 Blue group — DOVETAIL

• 🟪 Purple group — DORADO

What Are Today’s Connections Groups?

Today’s Connections groups are...

• 🟨 Yellow group — move at breakneck speed

• 🟩 Green group — organ meats

• 🟦 Blue group — woodworking joint terms

• 🟪 Purple group — el _____

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 — move at breakneck speed (BARREL, BOLT, HURTLE, TEAR)

• 🟩 Green group — organ meats (GIZZARD, HEART, TONGUE, TRIPE)

• 🟦 Blue group — woodworking joint terms (DADO, DOVETAIL, MITRE, MORTISE)

• 🟪 Purple group — el _____ (CAPITAN, DORADO, GRECO, PASO)

I thought GIZZARD (lizard), MORTISE (tortoise) and GRECO (gecko) might be words that rhymed with animals at first, but I didn't see what else might work.

HURTLE and BARREL opened the path for the yellows for me today. Remembering that El CAPITAN is a thing (thank you Apple, for your macOS naming system!) helped me figure out the purples, even if GRECO was a guess. Also, I think I annoyed myself with that hint, which referenced Eleven (aka El) and the definite article. Sorry!

From there, TRIPE, HEART and TONGUE helped me deduce the greens, even if it did take me a moment to remember what a GIZZARD was. That left the blues, which I got by default. I'll freely admit I had absolutely no idea here, even though DOVETAIL is a word I use often!

I somehow got a perfect game here to bring me up to 281 wins in a row. I've got that 300 in my field of view and I'm gonna get it.

How did you get on today? Here's my grid:

🟨🟨🟨🟨 
🟪🟪🟪🟪 
🟩🟩🟩🟩 
🟦🟦🟦🟦

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. I first heard this track on Apple Music’s Sunday Morning playlist. “Midnight” by Khruangbin and Leon Bridges is such a textured and warm song. I enjoy it very much:

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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