NYT Connections hints & answer
Connections gives you 16 words to sort into four hidden groups of four, ranked from easiest (yellow) to trickiest (purple). Four wrong guesses end the puzzle — and many words look like they fit more than one category on purpose.
Hints — one at a time
Hint 1 of 5
One easy group is all about saying goodbye — the closing chapter, act, or performance of something.
Hint 2 of 5
Another group covers things you'd interact with at a coin-operated arcade.
Hint 3 of 5
A trickier group gathers words that are themselves each "a set of four" — think compass points, elements, weather seasons, and a deck of cards.
Hint 4 of 5
The hardest group hides a car part at the tail end of a longer word or phrase — look for a hood, a trunk, something rubber, and something that spoils.
Hint 5 of 5
Watch out: one entry that sounds like it means "mockery" actually ends in a word for rubber wheels.
The answer — spoilers!
Reveal the full answer
Grand Finale
EPILOGUE · FAREWELL · LAST DANCE · SWAN SONG
Seen In An Arcade
CRANE GAME · PINBALL · TICKETS · TOKENS
Four Groups of Four
CARDINAL DIRECTIONS · CLASSICAL ELEMENTS · SEASONS · SUITS
Ending in Parts of a Car
PLOT SPOILER · ROBIN HOOD · SATIRES · TREE TRUNK
Previous days
Want the strategy, not just today's answer? Read our NYT Connections strategy guide.