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Need a nudge before the answers? Connections #245, from Sunday, February 11, 2024, mixes sound, boats, captains and word parts that form government-related terms. Start with the spoiler-free clues below; the full groups and explanations follow.
Hints for Connections #245
Officially, Connections gives players 16 words and asks them to find four groups of four that share a common link. (NYT Help Center)
- Yellow: On and on and on and on.
- Green: Ship ahoy!
- Blue: Skippers.
- Purple: Systems of governance.
A broader nudge: several words point toward the sea, but not every group is nautical. Listen for a repeated quality in one set, and look at what can be added after a word fragment in another.
Answers for February 11
Spoilers ahead: the categories and complete word sets are below.
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| Color | Category | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | Monotonous sounds | Buzz, Drone, Hum, Purr |
| Green | Boats | Barge, Dory, Scow, Sloop |
| Blue | Captains | America, Hook, Morgan, Nemo |
| Purple | Prefixes with -cracy | Auto, Bureau, Demo, Pluto |
Why the groups fit
Monotonous sounds: Buzz, Drone, Hum, Purr
Each can describe a steady, repetitive sound. The words can also have other meanings, but the sound association ties this set together.
Boats: Barge, Dory, Scow, Sloop
All four are types of boats. The less familiar terms may make the group harder to spot if you are first drawn to the better-known names elsewhere on the board.
Rank #2
Captains: America, Hook, Morgan, Nemo
These are names associated with captains: Captain America, Captain Hook, Captain Morgan and Captain Nemo. Their nautical connections can make them seem to belong with the boats, but the shared link is the title “Captain.”
Prefixes with -cracy: Auto, Bureau, Demo, Pluto
Add “-cracy” to each word fragment: autocracy, bureaucracy, democracy and plutocracy. Nemo is the tempting sea-captain distractor; Bureau is the word that completes bureaucracy.
Rank #3
How to approach a tricky Connections board
- Start with direct definitions. Check whether several entries are objects of the same type, as with the four boats.
- Notice overlapping associations. Captain Nemo and the boat words all evoke the sea, but a broad theme is not necessarily a complete group. Test whether the same rule fits all four candidates.
- Try familiar word endings. If entries look like fragments, mentally add a shared suffix or prefix. Here, adding “-cracy” reveals the last set.
- Use each hint as a category direction, not a word-by-word answer. “Skippers,” for example, points to captains; it does not mean every sea-related entry belongs together.
When the puzzle appears and where to play
The New York Times says Connections refreshes daily at midnight in the player’s timezone and is free to play on its listed platforms. The full puzzle archive is available to All Access and Games subscribers. See the NYT Help Center’s Connections page for current access details.
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