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These are the hints and answers for the Sunday, July 21, 2024, NYT Connections puzzle, #406. Start with the spoiler-free clues below, then open the clearly marked section for all four groups and their words.
Hints for Connections #406
Try the clues in order; each one gives a little more away.
- Gentle hint: The four themes involve political activity, what something is made of, workshop equipment, and mathematical shorthand.
- Stronger hint: One group concerns helping an election candidate; another describes constitution or makeup. The remaining groups are tools used in carpentry and abbreviations used in math.
Spoilers: July 21 Connections answers
The four categories and their words are:
- Ways to support a candidate: CAMPAIGN, CANVASS, ORGANIZE, STUMP
- Constitution: COMPOSITION, FABRIC, MAKEUP, STRUCTURE
- Carpentry tools: CLAMP, FILE, LEVEL, SAW
- Math abbreviations: LOG, MAX, MOD, TAN
Why the candidate-support group can be tricky
In this group, stump is a verb meaning to speak or campaign in support of a candidate. Canvass means to solicit or gather voter support. Those less familiar senses connect both words to candidate support. Readers discussing the puzzle raised uncertainty about these terms, though that discussion does not establish how common the difficulty was. The July 21 puzzle discussion includes that reader reaction.
Possible word-association traps
Some words can suggest more than one idea before the categories become clear: FILE and LOG can evoke computing; LEVEL and ORGANIZE can suggest arranging or preparing; and MAKEUP, FABRIC, and TAN can bring appearance or materials to mind. These are possible associations, not alternate official answers.
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Why the date matters
Use the date and number together: this answer set is for Sunday, July 21, 2024, puzzle #406. Searchable archives do not all agree on the numbering; one listing assigns #431 to July 21. The contemporaneous answer guide and another archive identify the intended puzzle as #406, so the date is the clearest way to distinguish it. The July 21 answer guide and the conflicting archive listing show the discrepancy.
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