Are you looking for a different day?
A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight every day for your time zone, which means some people are always playing “today’s game” while others play “yesterday’s game.” If instead you are looking for the Monday puzzle then click here: NYT Connections Tips and Answers for Monday, February 23 (Game #988).
Good day! Let’s play Connections, the NYT’s clever word game that challenges you to group answers into various categories. It can be difficult, so read on if you need Connections tips.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.
NYT Connections Today (Game #989): Today’s Words
Today’s words from NYT Connections are…
- COWARD
- LASER
- SCOTTISH
- BONES
- JIM
- CORAL
- BALANCE
- CHEKHOV
- THISTLE
- SHAW
- SHELLS
- TRACTOR
- TARTAN
- TEETH
- MILLER
- BAGPIPES
NYT Connections Today (Game #989) – Clue #1 – Group Hints
What are some leads for current NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: Formed from common white mineral.
- GREEN: Icons of the kilt-wearing nation
- BLUE: Notable playwrights
- PURPLE: Add a word that rhymes with “schema”
Do you need more clues?
We’re firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the answers are to the four topics for today’s NYT Connections riddles…
NYT Connections Today (Game #989) – Clue #2 – Group Answers
What are the answers for current NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: CALCIUM-BASED STRUCTURES
- GREEN: SYMBOLS OF SCOTLAND
- BLUE: FAMOUS PLAYWRIGHTS
- PURPLE: _____ BEAM
Well, the answers are below, so DON’T SCROLL FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Connections Today (Game #989): The Answers
The answers to today’s Connections game #989 are…
- YELLOW: CALCIUM-BASED STRUCTURES BONES, CORAL, SHELLS, TEETH
- GREEN: SYMBOLS OF SCOTLAND BAGPIPE, SCOTTIE, TARTAN, THISTLE
- BLUE: FAMOUS PLAYWRIGHTS CHEKHOV, COWARD, MILLER, SHAW
- PURPLE: _____ BEAM BALANCE, JIM, LASER, TRACTOR
- My rating: Hard
- My score: 1 error
I once went to an event at the Jack Daniel’s distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee and mischievously asked the bartender for a double JIM BEAM. The bartender looked at me intently and said “we don’t say that name around here,” leaving me with no doubt that I had crossed the line.
Despite my penchant for Jim’s bourbon, I still failed to see today’s purple group and also failed in my attempt to complete the FAMOUS PLAYWRIGHTS, foolishly putting THISTLE instead of COWARD.
This error directed me to the significantly more obvious SYMBOLS OF SCOTLAND, which, like yesterday’s group of conical shapes, which included a “cone” mosaic, included the word SCOTTIE after the dogs of the same name, all to help create a ghost group of classic Star Trek characters (JIM, CHECKHOV, BONES) that I luckily didn’t see until the game was over.
Answers from yesterday’s NYT Connections (Monday, February 23, game #988)
- PURPLE: SETTINGS FOR A KISS BLARNEY STONE, MISTLETOE, NEW YEAR’S EVE, WEDDING
- BLUE: POSTURE DECEPTION, FRONT, MASCARADE, POSTURE
- YELLOW: EAT VORAZOUSLY BOLT, THROAT, INHALE, SCARF
- GREEN: CONICAL THINGS CHRISTMAS TREE, CONE, PARTY HAT, VOLCANO
What are NYT connections?
NYT Connections is one of the increasingly popular word games created by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow is a little harder, blue is usually quite difficult, and purple is usually very difficult.
On the plus side, you don’t technically need to solve the final question since you’ll be able to answer it through a process of elimination. What’s more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little breathing room.
However, it’s a little more complicated than something like Wordle and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For example, be careful with homophones and other puns that could disguise answers.
It can be played for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile devices.
