Connections #418 was published on Friday, August 2, 2024. The puzzle’s four groups are about putting pressure on someone’s patience, things a DJ does, grammatical adjectives, and meanings associated with the color green.
If you want to solve it without spoilers, start with the hints below. The complete word groups and explanations appear after the spoiler warning.
Spoiler-free hints for Connections #418
Connections gives you 16 words and asks you to divide them into four groups of four. The groups are color-coded by difficulty: yellow is generally the most accessible, while purple is usually the most misleading.
- Yellow: A phrase meaning to stretch someone’s patience or endurance.
- Green: Actions associated with a disc jockey.
- Blue: Words that can describe grammatical categories or constructions.
- Purple: Different meanings or associations of the color green.
Another way to approach the clues is: “Putting you under pressure,” “Decks appeal,” “All about words,” and “Related to a specific color.”
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The words in the August 2, 2024 puzzle were:
DIRECT, ECOLOGICAL, IRREGULAR, JEALOUS, LUSH, MIX, NAUSEOUS, POSSESSIVE, PRESENT, SAMPLE, SCRATCH, SPIN, STRAIN, TAX, TEST, TRY
Before reading further, this is the point to stop if you want the full challenge.
Spoiler warning: The answers and reasoning for all four groups are below.
Answers for Connections #418
Yellow: STRAIN, TAX, TEST, TRY
Category: Put pressure on someone’s patience or endurance.
Rank #2
- STRAIN someone’s patience
- TAX someone’s patience
- TEST someone’s patience
- TRY someone’s patience
Each word completes the phrase “___ one’s patience.” A difficult situation can strain, tax, test, or try someone’s patience. The wording is slightly broader than simply “annoy,” because the category is about putting pressure on a person’s endurance.
Green: MIX, SAMPLE, SCRATCH, SPIN
Category: Things a DJ does.
- MIX tracks or songs
- SAMPLE sounds or recordings
- SCRATCH records
- SPIN music or records
These are all familiar DJ-related actions. “Spin” can mean play music, while “scratch” refers to manipulating a record to create a rhythmic sound. “Sample” and “mix” are also central to producing or performing recorded music.
Blue: DIRECT, IRREGULAR, POSSESSIVE, PRESENT
Category: Adjectives used in grammar.
- DIRECT object
- IRREGULAR verb
- POSSESSIVE pronoun
- PRESENT tense
These words become grammatical terms when placed before a noun. A direct object receives the action of a verb; an irregular verb does not follow the usual conjugation pattern; a possessive pronoun indicates ownership; and the present tense generally describes current action or a general state.
Purple: ECOLOGICAL, JEALOUS, LUSH, NAUSEOUS
Category: What “green” might mean.
- ECOLOGICAL: green in the environmental sense
- JEALOUS: green with envy
- LUSH: green and luxuriant, especially when describing vegetation
- NAUSEOUS: green-looking or green-faced from illness
This is the most abstract group. “Green” may describe environmental or ecological concerns, jealousy, abundant vegetation, or the sickly appearance associated with nausea.
Why Connections #418 was tricky
The puzzle’s central difficulty was that several words supported plausible but incorrect groupings.
POSSESSIVE and JEALOUS can both suggest relationships or romantic insecurity. But they belong in separate categories: POSSESSIVE goes with grammatical terms, while JEALOUS belongs with the different meanings of “green.”
SAMPLE, TEST, and TRY can all relate to experimentation or attempting something. That apparent connection is a decoy. SAMPLE belongs with DJ actions, while TEST and TRY complete “one’s patience” alongside STRAIN and TAX.
SPIN, TEST, and TRY can also feel like action-oriented words meaning to give something a go, but SPIN is part of the DJ group.
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Rank #4
The safest way through this grid is to look for words that form a precise phrase or established term. “Test one’s patience” and “possessive pronoun” are stronger constructions than the looser associations created by the decoys.
How the Connections game works
Connections presents 16 words and asks players to find four groups sharing a common theme. Each group contains four words, and the color system indicates the intended difficulty: yellow, green, blue, and purple.
The daily game is free to play. The New York Times also offers Connections through its Games app, the Connections website, The Athletic, and the News app. According to the New York Times Help Center, eligible Games and All Access subscribers can access an archive reaching back to June 12, 2023, along with certain subscriber-only tools. The archive and subscription availability can vary by account and region, so check the current New York Times Games access terms before subscribing.
More puzzles after #418
Want more category-matching puzzles away from the screen? The upcoming Connections puzzle book from The New York Times Games and Wyna Liu is listed by its publisher as the first book-form collection of Connections puzzles. It is described as a 192-page hardcover with more than 100 puzzles, exclusive puzzles, varied difficulty, behind-the-scenes material, and variations on the classic 4×4 format. The listed publication date is October 22, 2026, so availability should be confirmed with the retailer at the time of purchase. The publisher does not describe it as containing puzzle #418.
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What are the answers to Connections #418 from August 2, 2024?
The groups are STRAIN, TAX, TEST, TRY for putting pressure on someone’s patience; MIX, SAMPLE, SCRATCH, SPIN for things a DJ does; DIRECT, IRREGULAR, POSSESSIVE, PRESENT for grammatical adjectives; and ECOLOGICAL, JEALOUS, LUSH, NAUSEOUS for meanings or associations of “green.”
Best Value
What was the purple category in Connections #418?
The purple category was “What ‘green’ might mean,” with ECOLOGICAL, JEALOUS, LUSH, and NAUSEOUS.
Why is POSSESSIVE not grouped with JEALOUS?
Although both words can suggest relationship-related ideas, POSSESSIVE forms the grammatical term “possessive pronoun,” while JEALOUS belongs to the “green” expressions category, as in “green with envy.”
Can I play older Connections puzzles?
The daily Connections game is free. The New York Times Help Center says eligible Games and All Access subscribers can access the Connections archive, which reaches back to June 12, 2023, subject to the applicable account and access terms.
The Bottom Line
Connections #418, published August 2, 2024, resolves to four groups: STRAIN, TAX, TEST, TRY; MIX, SAMPLE, SCRATCH, SPIN; DIRECT, IRREGULAR, POSSESSIVE, PRESENT; and ECOLOGICAL, JEALOUS, LUSH, NAUSEOUS. The main traps are the tempting overlaps between POSSESSIVE and JEALOUS, SAMPLE and TEST, and the action words SPIN, TEST, and TRY.
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