NYT Connections #462 was the Sunday, September 15, 2024 puzzle. The groups are RESIDE, DECREASE, DOOFUS, and MEMBER OF A SEPTET. Start with the hint ladder below if you want help without immediately seeing the full answer.
Spoiler warning: This guide reveals every group and all 16 answers for the archived New York Times Connections puzzle #462. If you are still solving, use the hint ladder first and stop before the full solution.
Connections #462 hints for September 15, 2024
The puzzle number resolves the date: Connections #462 was published on Sunday, September 15, 2024. It is not the puzzle for September 15, 2025 or a future September 15 edition.
Here are the words from the grid:
- CLOWN
- DWELL
- TURKEY
- SEA
- WONDER
- SAP
- DWINDLE
- STAY
- DECLINE
- DWEEB
- EBB
- LIVE
- SIN
- INHABIT
- DWARF
- DROP
Yellow hint: occupy a place
Look for verbs that can mean to reside, remain in, or occupy a location.
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Green hint: become less
These words can describe something falling in amount, strength, level, or intensity.
Blue hint: a foolish person
Think of informal words for someone who is silly, inept, or unintelligent.
Purple hint: connected with seven
The final four words are associated with famous groups or lists of seven.
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Connections #462 answers
| Color | Category | Answers |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | RESIDE | DWELL, INHABIT, LIVE, STAY |
| Green | DECREASE | DECLINE, DROP, DWINDLE, EBB |
| Blue | DOOFUS | CLOWN, DWEEB, SAP, TURKEY |
| Purple | MEMBER OF A SEPTET | DWARF, SEA, SIN, WONDER |
Full solution and explanations
Yellow: RESIDE — DWELL, INHABIT, LIVE, STAY
DWELL, INHABIT, LIVE, and STAY can all refer to residing in or occupying a place. “Dwell” and “inhabit” are especially direct matches, while “live” and “stay” can describe either a permanent home or a temporary location depending on context.
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DECLINE, DROP, DWINDLE, and EBB describe something becoming smaller, weaker, lower, or less plentiful. A number can decline or drop, supplies can dwindle, and a tide or force can ebb.
Blue: DOOFUS — CLOWN, DWEEB, SAP, TURKEY
CLOWN, DWEEB, SAP, and TURKEY are informal terms for a foolish, inept, or unintelligent person. The group is deliberately tricky because “clown” and “turkey,” in particular, can also have meanings unrelated to a person’s intelligence.
Purple: MEMBER OF A SEPTET — DWARF, SEA, SIN, WONDER
The purple group is built around the number seven:
- DWARF points to the Seven Dwarfs.
- SEA points to the seven seas.
- SIN points to the seven deadly sins.
- WONDER points to the Seven Wonders of the World.
This is the most allusive category in the puzzle. None of the four words means “seven” by itself; each becomes part of the connection through a familiar set of seven.
How to solve this grid
The cleanest entry point is the residence group. DWELL, INHABIT, LIVE, and STAY are close semantic matches, so identifying them removes four relatively obvious distractors.
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Among the remaining words, DECLINE, DROP, DWINDLE, and EBB share the idea of reduction or movement downward. Once those are removed, the informal-insult group becomes clearer: CLOWN, DWEEB, SAP, and TURKEY.
The four remaining words—DWARF, SEA, SIN, and WONDER—supply the purple “seven” connection. Solving the puzzle in this order also illustrates a useful Connections tactic: start with direct synonyms, then use the eliminated words to test more indirect cultural or phrase-based links.
How Connections works
Connections gives players 16 words and asks them to divide the grid into four groups of four. Each group shares a hidden connection. The categories are color-coded by intended difficulty: yellow is generally the most accessible, followed by green, blue, and purple, which is usually the most challenging.
Players can make up to four mistakes. Because a word may plausibly fit more than one category, it is often better to identify a complete set of four before submitting rather than locking in a tempting three-word pattern.
Bottom line
The answers to Connections #462 are RESIDE, DECREASE, DOOFUS, and MEMBER OF A SEPTET. The key to the hardest group is recognizing that DWARF, SEA, SIN, and WONDER each point to a well-known set of seven.
Frequently Asked Questions
What date was Connections #462?
NYT Connections puzzle #462 was published on Sunday, September 15, 2024. The puzzle number is important because September 15 without a year can refer to a different archived puzzle.
Why are DWARF, SEA, SIN, and WONDER connected?
The purple category is MEMBER OF A SEPTET. DWARF refers to the Seven Dwarfs, SEA to the seven seas, SIN to the seven deadly sins, and WONDER to the Seven Wonders of the World.
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What are the four Connections #462 categories?
The four categories are RESIDE, DECREASE, DOOFUS, and MEMBER OF A SEPTET.
The Bottom Line
Connections #462, September 15, 2024: RESIDE (DWELL, INHABIT, LIVE, STAY); DECREASE (DECLINE, DROP, DWINDLE, EBB); DOOFUS (CLOWN, DWEEB, SAP, TURKEY); MEMBER OF A SEPTET (DWARF, SEA, SIN, WONDER).
Quick Recap
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