Need help with NYT Connections Puzzle #568? The Monday, December 30, 2024, board combines lunch orders, coffee-making supplies, phrases formed with up, and names that use an exclamation mark. Read the hints first, then continue to the category labels and complete solution if you want the spoilers.
Spoiler warning: The hints below are arranged from least revealing to most revealing. The full word groups and explanations appear farther down the page.
NYT Connections #568: Monday, December 30, 2024
This is the historical puzzle published on Monday, December 30, 2024, and it is numbered Puzzle #568. It should not be confused with the different Connections puzzle published on December 30, 2025, which was Puzzle #933.
Here are the sixteen words in the board, shown in randomized order:
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PINK PONY CLUB AIRPLANE
GRINDER WATER ANTE HERO
WRAP SETTLE JEOPARDY BEANS
YAHOO FILTER MELT COUGH
Hints for Connections #568
Try to solve each group before moving to the next hint. The clues become more specific as you go.
Yellow group hint
These are types of sandwiches or lunch orders.
Green group hint
These are things that may be used to make coffee.
Blue group hint
Add “up” after each word to form a phrase associated with paying.
Purple group hint
These are names that conventionally include an exclamation mark.
Category labels
Still stuck? Here are the four category names, without revealing which words belong in each group:
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- Yellow: LUNCH ORDERS
- Green: USED TO MAKE COFFEE
- Blue: PAY, WITH “UP”
- Purple: NAMES FEATURING “!”
Complete answers for NYT Connections #568
Yellow: LUNCH ORDERS
CLUB, HERO, MELT, WRAP
A club, hero, melt, and wrap can all describe sandwich styles or lunch orders. “Hero” is commonly used for a large submarine-style sandwich, while a melt is typically a sandwich served with melted cheese. The group is deliberately broad: the words describe familiar things a person might order for lunch rather than four strictly identical sandwich types.
Green: USED TO MAKE COFFEE
BEANS, FILTER, GRINDER, WATER
These are all used in preparing coffee. Beans are the coffee itself before grinding, a grinder prepares them for brewing, a filter separates the grounds from the brewed drink, and water extracts the coffee during brewing.
This category mixes ingredients with equipment and supplies, which makes it less precise than some Connections groups. That broad wording is part of the challenge: the connection is not that all four are tools or that all four are ingredients, but that each may be used to make coffee.
Blue: PAY, WITH “UP”
ANTE, COUGH, PONY, SETTLE
Add up to each word:
| Board word | Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ANTE | ante up | Contribute money, especially as a stake or required payment. |
| COUGH | cough up | Hand over money, often reluctantly. |
| PONY | pony up | Pay or contribute what is owed. |
| SETTLE | settle up | Pay a bill or resolve a financial obligation. |
The resulting phrases all relate to paying, contributing money, or settling an amount due. The words are not synonyms on their own; the shared connection appears only after up is added.
Purple: NAMES FEATURING “!”
AIRPLANE, JEOPARDY, PINK, YAHOO
Each word points to a name conventionally styled with an exclamation mark:
- Airplane! — the film title.
- Jeopardy! — the television quiz show.
- P!nk — the singer’s stylized stage name, with the exclamation mark replacing the “i.”
- Yahoo! — the internet company and brand name.
The punctuation is essential to the group. P!nk is the most deceptive entry because its exclamation mark appears inside the name rather than at the end. The other three are conventionally written with an exclamation mark at the end.
Why this puzzle can be tricky
The board contains several plausible distractions. Club could suggest a group or organization, while Pink can function as a color, a name, or part of a stylized brand. Pony is easy to overlook as a phrase-completion word until “pony up” comes to mind.
The coffee group also requires flexible thinking. Beans and water are ingredients, but a grinder and filter are tools or supplies. If you look only for four ingredients or four pieces of equipment, the group can seem inconsistent even though all four fit the published category.
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Some solver coverage regarded Puzzle #568 as relatively challenging. That is a publication-specific or solver-specific assessment, not an official universal difficulty score from The New York Times. The hardest group is likely to vary by experience: people familiar with branded punctuation may spot the purple group quickly, while others may find the “pay, with up” group more accessible.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Full grouping at a glance
| Color | Category | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | LUNCH ORDERS | CLUB, HERO, MELT, WRAP |
| Green | USED TO MAKE COFFEE | BEANS, FILTER, GRINDER, WATER |
| Blue | PAY, WITH “UP” | ANTE, COUGH, PONY, SETTLE |
| Purple | NAMES FEATURING “!” | AIRPLANE, JEOPARDY, PINK, YAHOO |
A screen-free way to keep playing
If you enjoy Connections but want a break from the daily screen routine, a New York Times Games puzzle book can provide a physical collection of word and logic puzzles, including Connections-style material. It is a companion activity for NYT Games fans, not a source for the exact historical answers to Puzzle #568.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the answer to NYT Connections Puzzle #568?
The four groups are LUNCH ORDERS: CLUB, HERO, MELT, WRAP; USED TO MAKE COFFEE: BEANS, FILTER, GRINDER, WATER; PAY, WITH “UP”: ANTE, COUGH, PONY, SETTLE; and NAMES FEATURING “!”: AIRPLANE, JEOPARDY, PINK, YAHOO.
When was Connections Puzzle #568 published?
Puzzle #568 was published on Monday, December 30, 2024.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsWhy is P!nk in the exclamation-mark category?
P!nk is the singer’s stylized name. The exclamation mark replaces the letter “i,” so it is part of the conventional spelling rather than simply punctuation at the end.
Is this the NYT Connections puzzle from December 30, 2025?
No. December 30, 2025 had a different puzzle, numbered #933. The puzzle covered here is the December 30, 2024 game, Puzzle #568.
The Bottom Line
The solution to NYT Connections #568 is: CLUB, HERO, MELT, WRAP for LUNCH ORDERS; BEANS, FILTER, GRINDER, WATER for USED TO MAKE COFFEE; ANTE, COUGH, PONY, SETTLE for PAY, WITH “UP”; and AIRPLANE, JEOPARDY, PINK, YAHOO for NAMES FEATURING “!”.
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