NYT Connections #459 was published on Thursday, September 12, 2024. If you are looking back for the answers—or want a few carefully ordered clues before seeing them—you are in the right place.
Spoiler warning: the complete categories and answers appear farther down this page. Start with the grid and hint ladder if you would still like to solve the puzzle yourself.
The 16 words in Connections #459
Here is the puzzle grid for Connections #459:
| ADVANTAGE | BIOTA | BOOKMARK | BIRD |
| BENEFIT | CURRY | FAVORITE | FETA |
| INTEREST | KOBE | LIKE | MAGIC |
| MOCHI | PEPSI | SAKE | SAVE |
Hints for Connections #459
Try these clues in order. The first hint for each group is broad; the final clue gives one representative answer without revealing every word.
- Yellow: Things you might click to keep an article, post, or video for later.
One answer: BOOKMARK. - Green: Words commonly used in phrases beginning with “for the …”.
One answer: SAKE. - Blue: Four famous basketball names, given in shortened form.
One answer: MAGIC. - Purple: Remove the first character from each word to reveal the name of a Greek letter.
One answer: BIOTA becomes IOTA.
Connections #459 answers
Spoilers below. These are the four completed groups for the September 12, 2024 puzzle.
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Yellow: MARK ONLINE FOR LATER
- BOOKMARK
- FAVORITE
- LIKE
- SAVE
These are familiar ways to mark or retain online content so you can find it again. Depending on the website or app, you might bookmark a page, favorite a post, like a video, or save an item for later.
Green: BEHALF
- ADVANTAGE
- BENEFIT
- INTEREST
- SAKE
This is a phrase-based group rather than four direct synonyms. Each word can follow for in expressions such as “for the sake of” and “for the benefit of.” The category label, “BEHALF,” points toward phrases expressing representation, purpose, or benefit.
Blue: NBA LEGENDS, FAMILIARLY
- BIRD — Larry Bird
- CURRY — Stephen Curry
- KOBE — Kobe Bryant
- MAGIC — Magic Johnson
These are shortened references to highly recognizable NBA stars. The words can be misleading if read only as ordinary nouns: bird, curry, and magic all have common meanings that are unrelated to basketball.
Purple: ENDING WITH GREEK LETTERS
- BIOTA → IOTA
- FETA → ETA
- MOCHI → CHI
- PEPSI → PSI
The purple group uses a letter-removal trick. Take away the first letter of each answer:
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|---|---|---|
| BIOTA | IOTA | Iota |
| FETA | ETA | Eta |
| MOCHI | CHI | Chi |
| PEPSI | PSI | Psi |
This is likely the puzzle’s most technical group. The four original words look unrelated until the initial-letter deletion rule becomes visible.
Why Connections #459 could be tricky
Published answer guides described this puzzle as relatively easy overall, with the yellow, green, and blue groups more accessible than the purple group. That assessment is source-attributed rather than a claim of personal play or testing.
The main traps are the ordinary meanings of BIOTA, FETA, MOCHI, and PEPSI. They do not appear to belong together semantically. The key is to test transformations, especially removing a letter, rather than searching only for a shared definition.
The blue group has a different kind of red herring. BIRD, CURRY, KOBE, and MAGIC are not four ordinary nouns with a common meaning in this puzzle; they are familiar basketball references. Recognizing the proper-name connection separates them from the rest of the grid.
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Want more Connections puzzles after this one?
If you prefer solving away from a screen, The New York Times Connections puzzle book is the most directly related recommendation. The official publisher describes the collection, edited by Wyna Liu, as a premium selection of Connections puzzles that includes exclusive puzzles not found in the digital game. It should be treated as additional official puzzle material—not as confirmation that puzzle #459 appears in the book.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the date of NYT Connections #459?
Connections #459 was published on Thursday, September 12, 2024. It is a historical puzzle and should not be confused with a September 12 puzzle from another year.
What was the hardest category in Connections #459?
The purple category, “ENDING WITH GREEK LETTERS,” is the most mechanically difficult. Removing the first letter from BIOTA, FETA, MOCHI, and PEPSI produces IOTA, ETA, CHI, and PSI.
What are the four categories in Connections #459?
The categories were MARK ONLINE FOR LATER; BEHALF; NBA LEGENDS, FAMILIARLY; and ENDING WITH GREEK LETTERS.
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The answers to NYT Connections #459 are BOOKMARK, FAVORITE, LIKE, SAVE; ADVANTAGE, BENEFIT, INTEREST, SAKE; BIRD, CURRY, KOBE, MAGIC; and BIOTA, FETA, MOCHI, PEPSI. The final group works by removing the first letter to reveal Greek-letter names.
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