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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsNYT Connections for Thursday, November 14, 2024, was game #522. The puzzle’s main traps involved words that could suggest food or broad completion: JAM belongs with music verbs, SYRUP with forms of sugar, SAP with depletion, and TOTAL with restaurant-receipt terms. Hints come first, followed by the complete answers.
Spoiler warning: This guide covers the Thursday, November 14, 2024 New York Times Connections puzzle, game #522. The complete answers appear below the hints, so stop reading before the answer section if you are still solving.
The key to this puzzle is separating several words with food-related or broadly musical associations. JAM, SYRUP, and SAP may initially seem connected, while TOTAL can look like another word for completely used up. The intended groups rely on more specific meanings.
How NYT Connections works
Connections gives you 16 words and asks you to sort them into four groups of four. Each group has a shared connection. You can make up to four incorrect guesses before the puzzle ends.
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The group colors generally indicate increasing typical difficulty: yellow, green, blue, then purple. That is a useful guide, but it is not a guarantee—an individual puzzle can make a supposedly easier category harder to spot than a purple one.
The 16 words in Connections game #522
| Words | Words | Words | Words |
|---|---|---|---|
| GRAIN | DRAIN | TOTAL | CUBE |
| SYRUP | SHRED | SIGNATURE | SAP |
| JAM | TAX | POWDER | ROCK |
| EMPTY | GROOVE | TIP | EXHAUST |
Hints for Thursday, November 14
These clues become progressively more specific. Try the first hint before moving to the next one.
- Yellow: Use up.
- Green: Play music with feeling.
- Blue: You may see these on a restaurant receipt.
- Purple: The sweetest thing.
Category clues without the answers
Still solving? The four category names are:
- Yellow: DEPLETE
- Green: PLAY MUSIC WITH PASSION
- Blue: WORDS ON A RESTAURANT RECEIPT
- Purple: FORMS OF SUGAR
NYT Connections answers for November 14, 2024
Warning: the complete solution is below.
Yellow: DEPLETE
DRAIN, EMPTY, EXHAUST, SAP
To drain, empty, or exhaust something is to use up or remove its supply. Sap works as a verb meaning to weaken or deprive something of energy or strength.
Green: PLAY MUSIC WITH PASSION
GROOVE, JAM, ROCK, SHRED
These are informal music-related verbs. A musician can groove, jam, rock, or shred. Shred is especially associated with highly technical, forceful guitar playing, while jam can describe performing music informally or improvisationally.
Blue: WORDS ON A RESTAURANT RECEIPT
SIGNATURE, TAX, TIP, TOTAL
A restaurant receipt may include a signature line, tax, tip, and total. Tax and total are deliberately broad accounting terms, but the receipt context brings them together with signature and tip.
Purple: FORMS OF SUGAR
CUBE, GRAIN, POWDER, SYRUP
Sugar can appear as a cube, granulated grains or crystals, powder, or syrup. This is the puzzle’s most likely final group because SYRUP and POWDER can invite several food-related interpretations.
Why this puzzle can be misleading
The puzzle was generally characterized as easy or straightforward, but the overlapping meanings create a few effective traps.
- JAM and SYRUP: Both are associated with food and breakfast, but JAM belongs with the music verbs. SYRUP belongs with the forms of sugar.
- SAP: Sap can suggest a sweet tree product, yet here it is a verb meaning to weaken or drain energy. It completes the depletion group.
- POWDER: Powder may suggest a cooking ingredient or another general food category. Its intended relationship is specifically a form in which sugar is sold or used.
- TOTAL: “Total” can mean complete, which may make it look related to using something up. In this grid, it is the word on a receipt and belongs with SIGNATURE, TAX, and TIP.
The broadness of DRAIN, EMPTY, and EXHAUST also makes the yellow group feel nearly too obvious. Once TOTAL is reserved for the receipt category, SAP is the word that confirms the intended depletion set.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Which Connections puzzle is this guide for?
The NYT Connections puzzle for Thursday, November 14 was game #522 from 2024. November 14, 2025 was a Friday and refers to a different puzzle.
What was the yellow category in Connections game #522?
The yellow group was DEPLETE: DRAIN, EMPTY, EXHAUST, and SAP.
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What was the purple category in the November 14 Connections puzzle?
The purple group was FORMS OF SUGAR: CUBE, GRAIN, POWDER, and SYRUP.
The Bottom Line
The November 14, 2024 Connections puzzle was game #522. Its groups were DEPLETE; PLAY MUSIC WITH PASSION; WORDS ON A RESTAURANT RECEIPT; and FORMS OF SUGAR.
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