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The NYT Connections hints and answers for Thursday, May 30 identify the 2024 puzzle, Connections #354—not a later May 30. The answers are PLUNDER, INFLUENCE, HAIRSTYLES, and ______ PIN, with groups LOOT–SACK, CLOUT–WEIGHT, BOB–SHAG, and BOBBY–SAFETY.
May 30, 2024, was a Thursday, which resolves the year omitted from the usual puzzle title. The spoiler ladder below gives category-level clues first, then the category names and complete 16-word solution.
Key takeaways
- Thursday, May 30 refers to the 2024 puzzle, because May 30 fell on a Thursday that year.
- The puzzle was Connections #354.
- The four categories were PLUNDER, INFLUENCE, HAIRSTYLES, and ______ PIN.
- The 16 answers form four groups: LOOT, RAID, ROB, SACK; CLOUT, PULL, SWAY, WEIGHT; BOB, CROP, FADE, SHAG; and BOBBY, HAIR, PUSH, SAFETY.
- The purple group is a phrase-completion category: BOBBY PIN, HAIRPIN, PUSH PIN, and SAFETY PIN.
Hints for the NYT Connections puzzle on Thursday, May 30
Use the hints below before opening the category names or complete answers. The hints progress from least revealing to most revealing.
| Color | Category-level hint | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | Take from someone else. | Easiest |
| Green | What you have when your opinions are respected and listened to. | Moderate |
| Blue | Related to hair. | Challenging |
| Purple | They can all share the same second word. | Trickiest |
How Connections works: The New York Times says that “Connections is a word game that challenges players to find themes between words.” Each puzzle presents 16 words that must be divided into four groups of four. The groups are color-coded by difficulty: yellow is easiest and purple is generally the most obscure or wordplay-heavy. Words are deliberately chosen to create misleading overlaps, so the intended group must explain all four words cleanly while excluding tempting alternatives. Read the official New York Times Connections explanation for the game’s basic rules.
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Category reveals for Connections May 30
Spoiler warning: The category names below reveal the puzzle’s intended connections. Stop at the hints section if you are still solving.
| Color | Category | What connects the words |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | PLUNDER | Words meaning to take property or valuables |
| Green | INFLUENCE | Words describing persuasive power or authority |
| Blue | HAIRSTYLES | Haircut or hairstyle terms |
| Purple | ______ PIN | Words that form familiar phrases when followed by “pin” |
What are the Connections answers for Thursday, May 30?
The complete NYT Connections answers for Thursday, May 30, 2024, are LOOT, RAID, ROB, SACK; CLOUT, PULL, SWAY, WEIGHT; BOB, CROP, FADE, SHAG; and BOBBY, HAIR, PUSH, SAFETY. The two date-specific answer reports from AOL and Parade and Candid Technology agree on the category labels and all 16 words.
Rank #2
Yellow: PLUNDER
LOOT, RAID, ROB, SACK are verbs describing the taking of property or valuables from someone or somewhere. “Loot” and “raid” can also work as nouns in other contexts, but the intended shared relationship here is their use as verbs connected with plundering.
Green: INFLUENCE
CLOUT, PULL, SWAY, WEIGHT can all describe persuasive power, standing, or authority. Someone with clout, pull, sway, or weight can affect decisions or cause other people to listen.
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Blue: HAIRSTYLES
BOB, CROP, FADE, SHAG are haircut or hairstyle terms. A bob, crop, fade, and shag can each refer to a recognizable way of cutting or styling hair.
Purple: ______ PIN
BOBBY, HAIR, PUSH, SAFETY each completes a familiar phrase with “pin”: bobby pin, hairpin, push pin, and safety pin. This is the wordplay-based group, since the words do not form a semantic category on their own; they become related through the shared second word.
Why is the date May 30, 2024?
The title’s weekday identifies the year: May 30 was a Thursday in 2024, and that date produced Connections puzzle #354. May 30, 2025 was a Friday, while May 30, 2026 was a Saturday, so the date should not be silently treated as a current-year puzzle. The archived puzzle identification is also supported by the independent May 30 answer report.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How should you approach similar Connections puzzles?
Start with the most direct relationship, but do not submit a group until every word fits and no stronger alternative remains. For a puzzle like May 30, the solving paths use four different reasoning types:
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| Reasoning type | May 30 example | Useful check |
|---|---|---|
| Direct synonym | LOOT, RAID, ROB, SACK | Can all four words describe the same action? |
| Semantic association | CLOUT, PULL, SWAY, WEIGHT | Do all four describe the same kind of power? |
| Appearance or subject matter | BOB, CROP, FADE, SHAG | Do all four name styles or forms of the same subject? |
| Phrase completion | BOBBY, HAIR, PUSH, SAFETY | Can the same word follow each entry naturally? |
When several words appear to fit, look for the group with the narrowest and most consistent definition. Connections often uses a familiar word in more than one plausible setting; the correct group is the one that leaves a clean set of four rather than requiring an exception.
Want more Connections puzzles after this answer?
For a screen-free continuation, the publisher lists Connections: Find the Common Threads in 100+ Puzzles of Wit and Wordplay, a physical collection curated by The New York Times Games and Wyna Liu. The listed release date is October 27, 2026, so availability and timing should be checked before ordering. The publisher’s Connections book page describes the collection; the book is optional and is not needed to solve the archived May 30 puzzle.
The Bottom Line
The NYT Connections answers for Thursday, May 30, 2024—puzzle #354—are PLUNDER: LOOT, RAID, ROB, SACK; INFLUENCE: CLOUT, PULL, SWAY, WEIGHT; HAIRSTYLES: BOB, CROP, FADE, SHAG; and ______ PIN: BOBBY, HAIR, PUSH, SAFETY.
Quick Recap
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