NYT Connections #540 was published on Monday, December 2, 2024. The puzzle’s four groups are words meaning announce, things involving mallets, icons associated with polo-shirt brands, and words that can precede “clip.”
Try the hints below before opening the complete answer section. The answers are hidden farther down so you can preserve the solving experience.
The 16 words in Connections #540
Here is the complete December 2, 2024, grid:
- ALLIGATOR
- BROADCAST
- CARPENTRY
- CROCODILE
- CROQUET
- DECLARE
- HAIR
- HERALD
- LAUREL
- PAPER
- POLO PLAYER
- SWOOSH
- TRUMPET
- VIDEO
- WHAC-A-MOLE
- XYLOPHONE
Connections asks you to divide 16 words into four groups of four. Each group has a shared connection, but several words are deliberately chosen to look as if they belong in more than one group.
Hints for December 2, 2024
Use these in order, starting with the least revealing:
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- Yellow: Ways to announce something.
- Green: Activities or objects involving mallets.
- Blue: Symbols or figures associated with a polo-shirt emblem.
- Purple: Words that can precede “clip.”
Need a little more help?
The yellow answers can all work as verbs related to making news known. The green group includes a sport, a musical instrument and two forms of striking. For blue, think of recognizable apparel logos or emblems. For purple, place each word directly before the word clip.
Spoiler warning: the Connections #540 answers
Stop here if you still want to solve the puzzle yourself. The complete groupings and explanations are below.
Yellow: ANNOUNCE
BROADCAST, DECLARE, HERALD, TRUMPET
Each word can mean to announce or publicize something. To broadcast is to make information widely known; to declare is to state something formally; to herald is to announce or signal the arrival of something; and to trumpet something is to publicize it loudly or proudly.
Green: THINGS INVOLVING MALLETS
CARPENTRY, CROQUET, WHAC-A-MOLE, XYLOPHONE
Carpentry can involve using a mallet as a hand tool. Croquet is played by striking balls with mallets. A whac-a-mole arcade game involves hitting targets with a mallet-like tool. A xylophone is played by striking its bars with mallets.
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CROCODILE, LAUREL, POLO PLAYER, SWOOSH
These are recognizable symbols associated with apparel brands commonly seen on polo shirts: the crocodile represents Lacoste, the laurel is associated with Fred Perry, the polo player is associated with Polo Ralph Lauren, and the Swoosh is Nike’s familiar mark.
The category is phrased broadly as an icon associated with a polo shirt rather than as four words that literally describe the same kind of object. That distinction is important to the solve.
Purple: ___ CLIP
ALLIGATOR, HAIR, PAPER, VIDEO
Each word forms a familiar phrase when placed before clip: alligator clip, hair clip, paper clip and video clip.
The complete solution at a glance
| Color | Category | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | Announce | BROADCAST, DECLARE, HERALD, TRUMPET |
| Green | Things involving mallets | CARPENTRY, CROQUET, WHAC-A-MOLE, XYLOPHONE |
| Blue | Icon associated with a polo shirt | CROCODILE, LAUREL, POLO PLAYER, SWOOSH |
| Purple | ___ clip | ALLIGATOR, HAIR, PAPER, VIDEO |
Why this puzzle was tricky
CROCODILE versus ALLIGATOR
The two reptile names are the most obvious pair of potential distractions. CROCODILE belongs with the blue apparel-emblem group because of the Lacoste crocodile. ALLIGATOR belongs in purple because “alligator clip” is a standard term.
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POLO PLAYER may initially suggest sports or mallets, especially because polo is played on horseback with a mallet. In this grid, however, it is the figure associated with Polo Ralph Lauren’s emblem. CROQUET is the actual mallet-related answer.
PAPER as a craft-related decoy
PAPER can evoke carpentry, crafting or other hands-on activities, but its intended role is more specific: it completes the familiar phrase paper clip.
How NYT Connections works
Each daily Connections puzzle presents 16 words. Your task is to select four groups of four words that share a category. The game uses four difficulty colors: yellow is generally the most accessible, followed by green, blue and purple, which is usually the most elusive.
You can make mistakes while solving, but the game limits the number of incorrect guesses. A strong approach is to look for a group with four highly specific matches, then check whether the remaining words still support three clean categories. Be particularly cautious when two words seem to form an obvious pair: a pair is not enough unless the other two members and the category also work.
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A practical solving method for similar puzzles
- Scan for fixed phrases. The “___ clip” group becomes clearer when each candidate is tested directly before the word clip.
- Separate literal matches from brand associations. CROCODILE and POLO PLAYER are not grouped because they are animals or sports terms; they point to recognizable logos and emblems.
- Look for actions as well as objects. The mallet category combines carpentry, a sport, an arcade game and a musical instrument.
- Use elimination carefully. Once the four announcement words are removed, the remaining grid makes the logo and clip groups easier to distinguish.
- Test the category wording. Connections categories may describe what words do, what they follow or precede, or what they represent. They do not always use the same grammatical form as the grid entries.
Want more puzzles offline?
If you enjoy this kind of word grouping away from the screen, Puzzle Mania!: Wordle, Connections, Spelling Bee, Minis and More! is an optional NYT Games puzzle book. The publisher describes it as a 224-page hardcover with new spins on several NYT Games, including Connections. It is additional puzzle material—not a reproduction of Connections #540 and not required to solve this archived puzzle. Check the current edition, price and availability before buying.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the answer to NYT Connections #540 from December 2, 2024?
The groups are ANNOUNCE: BROADCAST, DECLARE, HERALD and TRUMPET; THINGS INVOLVING MALLETS: CARPENTRY, CROQUET, WHAC-A-MOLE and XYLOPHONE; ICON ASSOCIATED WITH A POLO SHIRT: CROCODILE, LAUREL, POLO PLAYER and SWOOSH; and ___ CLIP: ALLIGATOR, HAIR, PAPER and VIDEO.
Why is CROCODILE not grouped with ALLIGATOR?
CROCODILE refers to the Lacoste apparel emblem, so it belongs in the blue group. ALLIGATOR forms the phrase “alligator clip,” so it belongs in the purple group.
What date is Connections puzzle #540?
Connections #540 is the puzzle for Monday, December 2, 2024. It should not be confused with a December 2 puzzle from another year.
The Bottom Line
Connections #540’s key traps are CROCODILE versus ALLIGATOR and POLO PLAYER versus CROQUET. The final groups are announcement words, mallet-related things, polo-shirt emblems and types of clips.
Quick Recap
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