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Spoiler warning: The answers below reveal the complete solution to NYT Connections #440, the puzzle published on Saturday, August 24, 2024. This is the 2024 puzzle, not a later August 24 edition.
For a clean solving path, start with the four words connected to rumor: RUMBLING, SPECULATION, TALK, and WHISPERS. Then look for quiet movement. The remaining commercial-sounding words point to car-rental brands, leaving a wordplay category involving chemical-element names.
Hints for Connections #440
Connections asks you to divide 16 words into four groups of four. The New York Times describes the categories as ranging from yellow, the easiest, to purple, the most difficult. If you want to preserve the challenge, use these hints in order rather than jumping straight to the answer grid. See the New York Times Connections guide for the game’s basic format.
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Yellow hint
These words describe rumor, gossip, or information that has not been confirmed.
Green hint
These are ways of moving quietly, cautiously, or without being noticed.
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Blue hint
All four are recognizable car-rental companies. Some can also be read as ordinary English words, which makes this group easier to miss.
Purple hint
Each word ends with the name of a chemical element. This is a word-ending category, not a request to identify chemical symbols alone.
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The 16 tiles
Here were the words in the August 24 puzzle:
NATIONAL, TALK, SLIP, LATIN, JARGON, STEAL, BUDGET, TIPTOE, WHISPERS, ENVIRON, PLEAD, ENTERPRISE, CREEP, SPECULATION, THRIFTY, RUMBLING
Connections #440 answers
| Color | Category | Answers |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | Hearsay | RUMBLING, SPECULATION, TALK, WHISPERS |
| Green | Move stealthily | CREEP, SLIP, STEAL, TIPTOE |
| Blue | Car-rental companies | BUDGET, ENTERPRISE, NATIONAL, THRIFTY |
| Purple | Ending with chemical-element names | ENVIRON, JARGON, LATIN, PLEAD |
Why each group works
Yellow: HEARSAY
RUMBLING, SPECULATION, TALK, and WHISPERS can all refer to information circulating without firm confirmation. “Rumbling” often suggests early or unofficial reports, while “speculation” explicitly signals uncertainty. “Talk” and “whispers” can describe gossip or unverified discussion.
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Green: MOVE STEALTHILY
CREEP, SLIP, STEAL, and TIPTOE can all describe quiet or covert movement. Here, STEAL is being used as a verb meaning to move stealthily—for example, to steal away—not in the sense of taking someone else’s property.
Blue: CAR-RENTAL COMPANIES
BUDGET, ENTERPRISE, NATIONAL, and THRIFTY are car-rental brand names. This is the category’s main trap: budget and thrifty are ordinary adjectives, while enterprise and national have broad everyday meanings. Treating them as names of rental companies makes the four-word set click into place.
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Purple: Words ending with chemical elements
ENVIRON ends in IRON, JARGON ends in ARGON, LATIN ends in TIN, and PLEAD ends in LEAD. Those endings are the names of chemical elements: iron, argon, tin, and lead.
This final category is sometimes described in answer guides as words “ending with chemical elements.” The useful observation is the ending itself: the element names are embedded at the ends of the four entries. It is primarily a spelling and wordplay connection, rather than a semantic group.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A practical solving route
- Find the rumor group: RUMBLING, SPECULATION, TALK, and WHISPERS are the most direct semantic match.
- Separate movement verbs: CREEP, SLIP, STEAL, and TIPTOE all describe moving quietly or covertly.
- Reinterpret the commercial-looking words: BUDGET, ENTERPRISE, NATIONAL, and THRIFTY are all rental-car brands.
- Inspect the leftovers: ENVIRON/IRON, JARGON/ARGON, LATIN/TIN, and PLEAD/LEAD reveal the purple wordplay.
Want more Connections puzzles?
The publisher has released an official Connections puzzle book for readers who want a physical collection of category-matching puzzles. It is a related print product—not the archived August 24, 2024 puzzle #440—and buying it should not be understood as unlocking NYT digital archives. A broader NYT Games collection has also been reported as including Connections alongside games such as Wordle and Spelling Bee.
Availability and editions can vary by country and retailer, so check the publisher or an authorized bookseller for the current listing before purchasing.
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Frequently Asked Questions
The four groups were HEARSAY; MOVE STEALTHILY; CAR-RENTAL COMPANIES; and WORDS ENDING WITH CHEMICAL-ELEMENT NAMES.
What was the answer to NYT Connections #440 on August 24, 2024?
The yellow HEARSAY group was RUMBLING, SPECULATION, TALK, and WHISPERS.
What were the yellow words in Connections #440?
The blue CAR-RENTAL COMPANIES group was BUDGET, ENTERPRISE, NATIONAL, and THRIFTY.
What were the blue words in Connections #440?
PLEAD ends with LEAD, the name of a chemical element. The other purple entries work similarly: ENVIRON/IRON, JARGON/ARGON, and LATIN/TIN.
Why was PLEAD in the purple group?
The Bottom Line
The complete solution to NYT Connections #440, published August 24, 2024, is: HEARSAY—RUMBLING, SPECULATION, TALK, WHISPERS; MOVE STEALTHILY—CREEP, SLIP, STEAL, TIPTOE; CAR-RENTAL COMPANIES—BUDGET, ENTERPRISE, NATIONAL, THRIFTY; and ENDING WITH CHEMICAL-ELEMENT NAMES—ENVIRON, JARGON, LATIN, PLEAD.
Quick Recap
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