If you are looking for the Connections answer for Saturday 13 July 2024, read on – I will share some clues, tips and strategies and finally the solutions for all four categories. Along the way I’ll explain the meanings of the more complex words and we’ll learn how everything fits together. Beware, there are spoilers below for July 13, NYT Connections #398! Read on if you want some tips (and then an answer) for today’s Connections game.
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Below I will give you some indirect hints about today’s Connections answers. And further down the page I will reveal the topics and answers. Scroll slowly and get only the tips you need!
Credit: Connections/NYT
Hints about the topics in today’s Connections puzzle
Here are some spoiler-free tips for the groupings in today’s links:
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Yellow category – Large.
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Green Category – Like a human, but not quite a lot.
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Blue category – Words to describe the impression of something.
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Purple Category – These words all share a letter in common that isn’t actually spoken aloud.
WARNING: Spoilers ahead for today’s Connections puzzle!
We are about to give some of the answers. Scroll slowly if you don’t want to spoil everything. (The full solution is a little further down.)
Warning about tricky parts
There is no category of fairy tales with CASTLE, WITCH, MONSTER and GIANT. However, two of these words belong to another category.
AVATAR and TITANIC are both films directed by James Cameron, but they don’t belong together today. AVATAR refers more generally to the idea of an external representation or digital version of a person (from which the film gets its title).
WATCH and LISTEN do not go together.
What are the categories in today’s links?
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Yellow: HUGE
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Green: Incarnation
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Blue: MEET AS
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Purple: QUIET “T”
DOUBLE ATTENTION: THE SOLUTION IS BELOW
Are you ready to learn the answers to today’s Connections puzzle? I give them all below.
What are the yellow words in today’s links?
Yellow grouping is considered the clearest. The theme for today’s yellow group is HUGE and the words are: GIANT, MAMMOTH, MONSTER, TITANIC.
What are the green words in today’s relationships?
Green grouping is supposed to be the second easiest. The theme for today’s green category is IMPAIRMENT and the words are: AVATAR, CHARACTER, FIGURE, PERSONA.
What are the blue words in today’s relationships?
The blue group is the second most difficult. The theme for today’s blue category is ENCOUNTER AS and the words are: APPEAR, LOOK, LOOK, SOUND.
What are the purple words in today’s links?
The purple grouping is considered the most difficult. The theme for today’s purple category is QUIET “T” and the words are: CASTLE, HUSTLE, LISTEN, WITCH.
How I solved today’s links
I’m tempted to pair AVATAR with TITANIC because they’re both movies directed by James Cameron, but I don’t see any of his other movie titles on the board.
Oh, AVATAR probably goes with CHARACTER, FACE, and FIGURE—all of these words describe facsimiles or entities. 🟩 Yes, EMBODIMENT is a much better word for it, thank you NYT.
GIANT, MONSTER, WITCH and CASTLE are fairy-tale type words, but they seem like a bit of a random set of words – one is a place, three are evil characters. Instead, let’s try MONSTER with TITANIC, GIANT, and MAMMOTH, because they’re all words that can be used to describe something big. 🟨
From the rest of the words, it seems that SOUND, LOOK, LOOK and LOOK can go together because they are all words that a person can use when describing the impression that something has made on them. 🟦
That leaves CASTLE, HUSTLE, WITCH and LISTEN. Um. Do they all have a silent T? 🟪 Hooray.
Connections Puzzle #398 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟪🟪🟪🟪
How to play Connections
I have a full Connections game guidebut here’s a refresher on the rules:
First, find the Connections game either on the New York Times website or in their games app (formerly the Crossword app). You will see a game board with 16 tiles, each with a word or phrase. Your task is to select a group of four tiles that have something in common. Often they are all of the same type of thing (for example: RAIN, SLASH, HAIL and SNOW are all types of wet weather), but sometimes there is word play involved (for example BUCKET, GUEST, TOP TAN and DESIRE are all types of lists: bucket list, guest list, etc.).
Select four items and press the Submit button. If you guessed correctly, the category and color will be revealed. (Yellow is easiest, followed by green, then blue, then purple.) If your guess is incorrect, you’ll have a chance to try again.
You win when you correctly identify all four groups. But if you make four mistakes before finishing, it’s game over and the answers are revealed.
How to earn Connections
The most important thing to know to win Connections is that grouping is designed to be tricky. Expect to see overlapping groups. For example, one puzzle appears to include six breakfast foods: BACON, EGG, PANCAKE, OMELET, WAFFLE, and CEREAL. But BACON turned out to be part of a group of artists along with CLOSE, MUNCH, and WHISTLER, and THE EGG was in a group of things that come by the dozen (along with THE JUDGE, ROSE, and MOON). So don’t hit submit until you’ve confirmed your group of four contains only these four things.
If you’re stuck, another strategy is to look at the words they seem to have no connection with others. If all that comes to mind when you see WHISTLER is the painting nicknamed “Whistler’s Mother,” you might be on to something. When I decided on this one, I ended up googling if there was an artist named Clowes, because Clowes didn’t fit any of the obvious themes either.
Another way to win when you’re stuck is obviously to read some helpful tips – that’s why we share these tips every day. Check back tomorrow for the next puzzle!
