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Connections #581 words
Here are the 16 entries from the January 12, 2025, puzzle:
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COMETS, INVENTION, COIN TOSS, DEFENDER, COURT, ASTEROIDS, FAIRY TALE, DRESS COAT, FICTION, ROMANCE, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, CENTIPEDE, CHARM, FANTASY, BREAKOUT, PURSUE
Spoiler-light hints
Try to find the groups before scrolling to the answers. The clues below progress from broad to specific.
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- Yellow: Made-up or invented things.
- Green: Try to win someone’s affection or favor.
- Blue: Classic arcade games associated with Atari.
- Purple: Things that feature or involve a tail.
Category answers
- Yellow: FABRICATION
- Green: WOO
- Blue: CLASSIC ATARI GAMES
- Purple: THINGS FEATURING TAILS
Complete answers for NYT Connections #581
Yellow: FABRICATION
FAIRY TALE, FANTASY, FICTION, INVENTION
These words can describe something imagined, created, or not literally true. Fairy tale, fantasy, and fiction are associated with invented stories, while an invention can be something newly created—or, in a different context, something made up.
Green: WOO
CHARM, COURT, PURSUE, ROMANCE
Each word can describe an attempt to attract someone’s affection or gain their favor. To charm, court, pursue, or romance someone can all fit the idea of wooing them.
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Blue: CLASSIC ATARI GAMES
ASTEROIDS, BREAKOUT, CENTIPEDE, DEFENDER
These are classic arcade titles associated with Atari. Asteroids, Breakout, Centipede, and Defender are the four intended video-game entries.
Purple: THINGS FEATURING TAILS
COIN TOSS, COMETS, DRESS COAT, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG
This is the most lateral group. A coin toss has a tails side, comets are known for their tails, and a traditional dress coat can have a tail or tails. Sonic the Hedgehog points to Tails, the two-tailed fox character whose full name is Miles “Tails” Prower.
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Why this puzzle was difficult
The biggest decoy is SONIC THE HEDGEHOG. It looks like an obvious video-game title and may tempt you to place it with Asteroids, Breakout, Centipede, and Defender. But the blue category is specifically classic Atari-associated games, leaving Sonic for the indirect “tails” connection.
COMETS and ASTEROIDS can also suggest a broad space category. Once Asteroids is recognized as an arcade game, however, it belongs with the other Atari titles. The purple group is deliberately more associative: three entries involve tails directly or by definition, while Sonic connects through his companion Tails.
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Answers and category explanations are based on the published solution for NYT Connections #581. The date is identified as January 12, 2025, since the same calendar date can refer to a different puzzle in another year.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the answer to NYT Connections #581?
The four categories were FABRICATION, WOO, CLASSIC ATARI GAMES, and THINGS FEATURING TAILS.
What were the purple answers in Connections #581?
The purple group was THINGS FEATURING TAILS: COIN TOSS, COMETS, DRESS COAT, and SONIC THE HEDGEHOG.
Why was SONIC THE HEDGEHOG in the tails category?
Sonic the Hedgehog connects to the category through Tails, the two-tailed fox character and Sonic’s companion, Miles “Tails” Prower.
The Bottom Line
NYT Connections #581 grouped FAIRY TALE, FANTASY, FICTION, INVENTION as FABRICATION; CHARM, COURT, PURSUE, ROMANCE as WOO; ASTEROIDS, BREAKOUT, CENTIPEDE, DEFENDER as CLASSIC ATARI GAMES; and COIN TOSS, COMETS, DRESS COAT, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG as THINGS FEATURING TAILS.
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