Connections today: Quick menu
Looking for today’s Connections answers? The Connections answers on December 28 for puzzle #200 are a little easier than others we’ve seen this week, with the Connections Companion rating this puzzle at 2.4 out of 5.
Every day, we update this article with Connections hints and tips to help you find all 4 of today’s answers. And if the hints aren’t enough, you’ll find all 4 answers below, with the category titles and the correlating words. Plus, we’re including a reflection on yesterday’s puzzle, #199, in case you’re reading this in a different time zone.
Spoilers lie ahead for Connections #200. Only read on if you want to know today’s Connections answers.
Today’s Connections answer — hints to help you solve it
Unlike our guide to today’s Wordle answer, where we recommend the best Wordle start words as your strategy, solving Connections relies on identifying connecting categories among 16 words. Each category’s difficulty level is represented by a color; yellow is the easiest grouping, and purple is the most challenging. Once you’ve made 4 mistakes in your guesses, the answers will be revealed, so hints can be helpful.
If you need hints to solve the groupings, then here are the themes of each, based on the order of difficulty:
- 🟨 Yellow: Vroom vroom
- 🟩 Green: That was fast!
- 🟦 Blue: Feathered friends
- 🟪 Purple: Musical icons
These hints should get you at least some of the way towards finding today’s Connections answers. If not, then you can read on for bigger clues; or, if you just want to know the answer, then scroll down further.
Alright then, here’s a larger hint: One of the deceptions in Connections puzzle #200 could have you praying for help. However, the Cardinal and Monk in today’s puzzle don’t belong in a religious setting — thinking of these words in another context will help you on your journey to enlightenment.
Today’s Connections answers
So, what are today’s Connections answers for game #200?
Drumroll, please…
- 🟨 Parts of a car: Bumper, Hood, Tire, Trunk
- 🟩 Move quickly: Bolt, Dart, Dash, Zip
- 🟦 Birds: Cardinal, Jay, Lark, Swift
- 🟪 Jazz Legends: Hancock, Holiday, Monk, Parker
I was feeling particularly zen today as I first laid eyes upon today’s grid, quickly dismissing Cardinal and Monk as a dead-end. My gaze then settled on Swift, and I started to pick out other fast words like Dash and Bolt. It became readily apparent that Swift didn’t belong with Bolt and Dart, but I was thankful that it led me to a rapid green category win.
Sticking with Swift, I spotted Jay and wondered if there was a bird theme in Connections #200. Sure enough, Cardinal and Lark were there to complete my flock and the blue birds category.
With fewer words to contend with, I quickly paired Bumper and Hood as parts of a car. It didn’t take much effort to add Tire and Trunk to complete the yellow parts of a car category. I’m surprised I didn’t spot it sooner, to be honest!
That left me with my frequent nemesis, the good ole’ purple category. I had already guaranteed a perfect round, but it always feels like cheating when I can’t figure out the connection. I pondered for a while before finally giving in and letting the game put me out of my misery. This will no doubt have been an easy purple category for any jazz fans out there.
Yesterday’s Connections answers
Reading this in a later time zone? Here are the Connections answers for game #199, which had a difficulty rating of 3.1 out of 5, according to the Connections Companion.
Not for the first time this week, what felt like a confident start soon had me floundering after stepping into every trap the Connections’ fiendish designers must have set. I immediately spotted the theme involving titles and combined Ms, Rev, Dr, and Prof, only to find I was one away. I swapped Ms for Gen, which prompted the same warning. Before panic stations set in, I parked that line of thinking and moved on.
I briefly considered the potential that Omen and Ghost had a spooky link, but after finding no other horror-related word, I found a new family for Omen, alongside Message, Sign, and Warning to complete the yellow category, Indication of things to come.
I was then briefly distracted by the possibility of Black and Ink forging some sort of combination, which wasn’t the case but did at least send me down the correct path without incurring another incorrect answer. Ink joined Charcoal, Paint, and Pastel to complete the Art mediums theme and add a welcome blue to my Connections canvas.
- 🟨 Indication of things to come: Message, Omen, Sign, Warning
- 🟩 Name prefixes: Gen, Ms, Prof, Rev
- 🟦 Art mediums: Charcoal, Ink, Paint, Pastel
- 🟪 _____ Pepper: Bell, Black, Dr, Ghost
I’ll admit that Cluedo (professor, doctor, etc) was a fleeting consideration before my fondness for festive fizzy drinks helped crack the purple theme, with Bell, Black, and Ghost joining Dr for words that can be used alongside Pepper.
Thankfully that left me in the welcome (and somewhat rare) situation of already being confident of the theme for the concluding category. With Dr now finding a new home, I could return to Name prefixes to combine Gen, Ms, Prof, and Rev and complete the set.
Connections tips — how to win Connections
Connections relies more on your deductive skills and general knowledge, and you also don’t get to know which word (or words) don’t belong in your guessed groupings. Only if you’ve included one incorrect word, will the game tell you so.
To win Connections, you’ll want to take your time looking at all 16 words before making your first guess. Do any words have more than pronunciation? Do any of the words mean more than one thing? Are any of the words part of larger phrases?
Often times, the answer that jumps out at your first will intentionally mislead you. That’s why identifying any possible 5-word categories is a good strategy to start. Bookmark them and come back to them after you’ve solved another category or two, and it should help you figure out which of the 5 words belongs in a different category.
Most Connections categories aren’t incredibly obvious. It’s common for the editor to use phrases, puns and other tricky topics that will require you to think. If you’re stuck on the categories, cycle through each word in the grid and brainstorm possible categories that word fits into, even if you don’t see other related words in the puzzle.
What is NYT Connections?
Connections is a category matching game, launched as a beta experience on June 12, 2023. It then joined the NYT Games app (iOS, Android) officially on August 28, 2023. This app is how people can play the daily New York Times Crossword and ultra-viral game Wordle; however, you need a paid subscription for crossword access, while Wordle and Connections are free to play.
In Connections, you’re presented with 16 words and need to group them into 4, 4-word categories. There are often words intended to mislead you, or seemingly 5-word categories. Your goal is to group the words properly without exceeding 4 guesses. If you can’t solve it within 4 guesses, you’ve failed, and the answers will be revealed.
What time does the Connections puzzle come out?
The NYT Connections puzzle comes out daily. The game is refreshed at your device’s midnight local time.
Where to play Connections
You can play Connections on the New York Times Game App, available for iOS/iPadOS and Android. If you’re on a computer or your device’s browser, you can access NYT Connections online here.