NYT Connections hints and answers for Sunday, November 16

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

I don’t enjoy combat sports for the most part, even though I competed in one when I was younger (I’m medically disqualified from doing so again!). Boxing and MMA aren’t for me, and the less said about garbage like Power Slap, the better.

I am a fan of pro wrestling, though. Have been since I was a kid. I’ve always loved the theatricality of it and how the performers use their bodies and actions to convey the stories and drama.

WWE’s product is tough to enjoy these days, due to a combination of dull storylines and the company’s business practices. I do really enjoy the other main player in North America, AEW. That outfit is far more about the actual wrestling side of the art than the soap opera stuff but the stories still hit more than miss.

Once a year, AEW focuses its main weekly TV show on a special match that involves two teams going at it inside a steel cage that wraps around two rings, with an array of weapons at their disposal. It gets pretty brutal. There’s a reason this match is called Blood and Guts. This was the first year that there was a women’s version of Blood and Guts and the (very talented) performers didn’t hold back. I’ll spare you most of the details, but I was entertained by it this past week.

I realize the hypocrisy of saying that I don’t typically enjoy violence, but I really do get a kick out of pro wrestling (which is simulated combat). Even when things get particularly wild and a whole bunch of people are bleeding profusely from their foreheads. We do very much contain multitudes.

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, November 16 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...

• PEDESTRIAN

• BARCODE

• TAX

• RAILROAD

• ZEBRA

• EVERYDAY

• SCHOOL

• AVENUE

• RUGBY SHIRT

• APPROACH

• BANAL

• PARKING

• PHILOSOPHY

• HUMDRUM

• IBM LOGO

• METHOD

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

• 🟨 Yellow group — that's one way to do it, but there are other strategies

• 🟩 Green group — seen it all before

• 🟦 Blue group — pool ball, NFL referee uniform and candy cane would fit in here

• 🟪 Purple group — like jail, chest and free

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 — PHILOSOPHY

• 🟩 Green group — PEDESTRIAN

• 🟦 Blue group — IBM LOGO

• 🟪 Purple group — TAX

What Are Today’s Connections Groups?

Today’s Connections groups are...

• 🟨 Yellow group — technique

• 🟩 Green group — run-of-the-mill

• 🟦 Blue group — stripy things

• 🟪 Purple group — words on Monopoly squares

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 — technique (APPROACH, METHOD, PHILOSOPHY, SCHOOL)

• 🟩 Green group — run-of-the-mill (BANAL, EVERYDAY, HUMDRUM, PEDESTRIAN)

• 🟦 Blue group — stripy things (BARCODE, IBM LOGO, RUGBY SHIRT, ZEBRA)

• 🟪 Purple group — words on Monopoly squares (AVENUE, PARKING, RAILROAD, TAX)

I spend most of my work day writing about tech and I had to take a minute to remember what the IBM LOGO looks like — I avoid looking things up as much as possible while playing Connections. I recalled that there are lines in the lettering, which squares with BARCODE and ZEBRA. I do not know what a RUGBY SHIRT looks like, but I didn't see anything else that fit.

Before I submitted that guess, though, I realized that ZEBRA also worked with PEDESTRIAN, RAILROAD and SCHOOL as a group of crossings. So I scrapped everything I had so far and looked elsewhere.

I then realized that PEDESTRIAN had to go with EVERYDAY, BANAL and HUMDRUM. It was the only thing that made sense. That got me the greens (I figured the "crossing" words had to be a red herring at that point).

I tried my group of things with stripes. Sure enough, I had the blues. Here are people playing rugby in stripy shirts:

From there, both the yellows and purples slotted together in my brain. The yellows were straightforward enough, but of course I had to submit the purples first. I figured they were all Monopoly references and I was right. Hooray.

An evaded red herring (AVENUE could have fit with the yellows as well) means my overall streak now sits at 260 wins after a perfect game. 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. Leonard Cohen passed away nine years this month. He’s a Montreal icon and quite literally towers over the city due to a giant downtown mural of him.

On the night he died, I went to his home. Everyone knew where his house was here. It’s right across the street from the diner to which he’d take his own plate so he could bring it home his breakfast. A crowd had gathered to pay tribute to the man, with flowers and singalongs at his doorstep. It was a moving occasion, and I’m glad I went.

His music is just tremendous at any time of year, but especially around now when the cold is settling in. Here’s one of my favorite songs of his:

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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