Need a nudge before the answers? These are the hints for New York Times Connections game #540, dated December 2, 2024. Start with the clues below; the full answer key follows in a clearly marked spoiler section.
Hints for Connections #540
Connections asks you to sort 16 words into four groups of four. The groups are color-coded by difficulty, from yellow as the most straightforward to purple as the most challenging. You can play through NYT Games on desktop or mobile.
- Yellow: Tell everyone.
- Green: Tent-pitching is another.
- Blue: It’s close to your chest.
- Purple: Blank [thing that holds other things together].
How the groups connect
Yellow: ANNOUNCE
Each word can mean to make something known: BROADCAST, DECLARE, HERALD, and TRUMPET.
Green: THINGS INVOLVING MALLETS
CARPENTRY, CROQUET, WHAC-A-MOLE, and XYLOPHONE all involve mallets. The connection is specifically about mallets, not simply striking or hitting.
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Blue: ICON EMBROIDERED ON A POLO SHIRT
CROCODILE, LAUREL, POLO PLAYER, and SWOOSH are icons associated with polo shirts. CROCODILE belongs here, despite its resemblance to ALLIGATOR.
Purple: ___ CLIP
ALLIGATOR, HAIR, PAPER, and VIDEO each complete a familiar phrase when followed by “clip”: alligator clip, hair clip, paper clip, and video clip.
Full answer key for December 2, 2024
Spoilers below: The following table gives the complete solution reported for game #540 by TechRadar’s Marc McLaren in a guide published December 2, 2024.
| Color | Category | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | ANNOUNCE | BROADCAST, DECLARE, HERALD, TRUMPET |
| Green | THINGS INVOLVING MALLETS | CARPENTRY, CROQUET, WHAC-A-MOLE, XYLOPHONE |
| Blue | ICON EMBROIDERED ON A POLO SHIRT | CROCODILE, LAUREL, POLO PLAYER, SWOOSH |
| Purple | ___ CLIP | ALLIGATOR, HAIR, PAPER, VIDEO |
The complete 16-word board
TRUMPET, CROQUET, CROCODILE, PAPER, ALLIGATOR, HAIR, WHAC-A-MOLE, HERALD, POLO PLAYER, BROADCAST, LAUREL, XYLOPHONE, CARPENTRY, VIDEO, SWOOSH, DECLARE.
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Rank #3
The two animal words are the board’s most tempting near-match: CROCODILE goes with the polo-shirt icons, while ALLIGATOR belongs in the phrase-completion group. The answer key and hints above are reported in TechRadar’s dated guide; they are not presented as independently verified against a New York Times archive.
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