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The answers for the archived Thursday, October 17, 2024, NYT Connections puzzle are below. Puzzle #494 groups the words into GRASSY AREA, DEAL WITH, movies with an S removed, and phrases ending in LAW. Use the hints first if you want to preserve the solve.
The 16 words in NYT Connections #494
Here is the word bank for the archived Thursday, October 17, 2024, puzzle:
PARK · CAR · HARVARD · YARD · ADDRESS · GREEN · JAW · LEMON · NATURAL · CRIMINAL · FIELD · SWINGER · HANDLE · GOODFELLA · ANSWER · LAWN
Hints for Connections #494
Try these clues in order. The first hint is the broadest; the last two point toward the puzzle’s wordplay.
#1 Best Overall
- Yellow: Think of an outdoor grassy place.
- Green: These words can mean to respond to, manage, or confront something.
- Blue: Add the same letter to each word to reveal movie titles.
- Purple: Put the same three-letter word after each entry to form a familiar phrase or title.
Warning: FIELD is a tempting fit for the grassy-place group. In the intended solution, it belongs with words meaning “deal with” instead.
Spoiler warning: answers below
The complete solution for NYT Connections puzzle #494 is revealed below.
NYT Connections answers for October 17, 2024
| Color | Category | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | Grassy area | GREEN, LAWN, PARK, YARD |
| Green | Deal with | ADDRESS, ANSWER, FIELD, HANDLE |
| Blue | Movies with “S” removed | CAR, GOODFELLA, JAW, SWINGER |
| Purple | ___ law | CRIMINAL, HARVARD, LEMON, NATURAL |
Yellow: GRASSY AREA — GREEN, LAWN, PARK, YARD
Green, lawn, park, and yard can all describe a grassy outdoor area. A green may be a grass-covered common or playing surface, while a lawn and yard are usually maintained areas around a home or building. A park is a larger public outdoor space that may include grass, paths, and recreational areas.
Rank #2
Green: DEAL WITH — ADDRESS, ANSWER, FIELD, HANDLE
As verbs, address, answer, field, and handle can all describe dealing with a question, problem, challenge, or situation. You can address an issue, answer a question, field questions from an audience, or handle a difficult situation.
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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11This is the puzzle’s main overlap trap. FIELD strongly suggests an open grassy area, but its verb meaning is the one Connections wants here.
Blue: MOVIES WITH “S” REMOVED — CAR, GOODFELLA, JAW, SWINGER
Add the letter S to each displayed word:
- CAR becomes Cars.
- GOODFELLA becomes Goodfellas.
- JAW becomes Jaws.
- SWINGER becomes Swingers.
The words are not grouped by their meanings. The category depends on restoring the missing final letter to create movie titles. GOODFELLA is the most revealing entry because Goodfellas is especially recognizable once the extra “S” is spotted.
Purple: ___ LAW — CRIMINAL, HARVARD, LEMON, NATURAL
Each word can come before law:
- Criminal law concerns offenses and the legal penalties associated with them.
- Harvard Law refers commonly to Harvard Law School or its associated legal context.
- Lemon law refers to consumer-protection rules for defective products or vehicles.
- Natural law is a philosophical and legal concept concerning principles believed to arise from nature or reason.
Here, LEMON is not being used as a fruit. Its legal meaning is the key to the final group.
How to solve this puzzle
A clean route begins with GREEN, LAWN, PARK, and YARD, but leave FIELD aside even though it appears to fit. Once that group is tested, look for verbs that describe dealing with something: ADDRESS, ANSWER, FIELD, and HANDLE.
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The movie group is then signposted by GOODFELLA. Adding an “S” produces Goodfellas, suggesting that CAR, JAW, and SWINGER need the same treatment. The four remaining words all precede LAW.
This puzzle was reported by one contemporary guide as having a difficulty rating of about 3.3 out of 5, or moderately difficult. That is an editorial assessment rather than an official New York Times score.
Keep playing offline
If you enjoy the category-matching format away from a screen, the publisher has released the official Connections puzzle book, described as the first book-format edition of the game. It is a natural option for working through more category puzzles in print, but there is no basis here to claim that this archived puzzle, #494, appears in the book.
What is NYT Connections?
Connections asks players to divide 16 words into four groups of four. Each group has a shared connection, but several entries are deliberately chosen to appear compatible with more than one category. Players have a limited number of incorrect guesses, so identifying the strongest groups before submitting can preserve attempts.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are the NYT Connections answers for October 17, 2024 (#494)?
The four groups are: GRASSY AREA—GREEN, LAWN, PARK, YARD; DEAL WITH—ADDRESS, ANSWER, FIELD, HANDLE; MOVIES WITH “S” REMOVED—CAR, GOODFELLA, JAW, SWINGER; and ___ LAW—CRIMINAL, HARVARD, LEMON, NATURAL.
Why is FIELD not in the grassy-area group?
FIELD is used as a verb meaning to deal with or respond to something, as in “field a question.” It is not part of the GRASSY AREA group, despite its other meaning as an open piece of land.
Which Connections answers become movie titles when you add S?
Adding S creates the movie titles Cars, Goodfellas, Jaws, and Swingers.
The Bottom Line
The October 17, 2024, Connections #494 groups are GREEN, LAWN, PARK, YARD for grassy area; ADDRESS, ANSWER, FIELD, HANDLE for deal with; CAR, GOODFELLA, JAW, SWINGER for movies with “S” removed; and CRIMINAL, HARVARD, LEMON, NATURAL for ___ law.
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