Crack the Code with The New York Times - Trivia Hints & Correct Responses for July 6Th Challenge (#391)

Quick Links

• What Is Connections?
• Hints for Today’s Connections Groups
• Today’s NYT Connections Answers
• How Did We Solve This Connections Game?
• How Do You Guess Connections Groups?

Connections is a game from the New York Times that challenges you to find the association between words. It sounds easy, but it isn’t—Connections categories can be almost anything, and they’re usually quite specific. If you need a hand getting the answers, we’ve got you covered.

What Is Connections?

Connections is a game from the New York Times. The objective is simple: sort 16 words into groups of 4. Each group of words will be connected by some common idea or theme. That common element could be anything. We have seen everything from games that rely on the number of letters in the words to categories that require you to spot an extra letter at the end of the word. Sometimes they’re references to economics, other times they reference fairy tales. There is no telling what sort of association there will be between words.

Once you’re confident you understand the connection, select 4 words, then hit “Submit.” You have only four attempts in total, so don’t be too guess-happy.

Hints for Today’s Connections Groups

Here are a few hints for the 391st Connections game to get you started:

• Yellow: What you’re made of.
• Green: Something you’d buy for a very young human.
• Blue: Musical objects.
• Purple: ____ You’re It!

If you still need help, the actual group names are:

• Yellow: Biological Building Blocks
• Green: Purchases for a Baby.
• Blue: Objects Played as Instruments
• Purple: ___ Tag

Today’s NYT Connections Answers

Biological Building Blocks (Yellow):

Atom, Cell, Molecule, Protein

Purchases for Baby (Green):

Bottle, Crib, Mobile, Rattle

Objects Played as Instruments (Blue):

Jug, Saw, Spoons, Washboard

____ Tag (Purple):

Dog, Freeze, Phone, Price

How Did We Solve This Connections Game?

July 6th came way more easily than July 5th, thankfully.

The first group I spotted was Yellow, “Biological Building Blocks.” Atom, cell, molecule, and protein are all pretty common terms you’ll hear in science, and I figured the group was something related to that, though I wasn’t sure precisely what the group name would be.

Bottle, crib, mobile, and rattle are all things babies use, and I couldn’t think of any other theme that fit crib, so I stuck them together. Green was “Purchases for a Baby.”

Jug, spoons, and washboard all seemed like household items of some sort, and I figured they were connected somehow. The 4th word, however, proved quite elusive, and I had to guess a few times before I got it: saw. My original thought had been “Items you find in a kitchen,” so saw immediately threw me. However, the Blue group was actually “Objects Played as Instruments.” Turns out I was just lucky!

That left the Purple group, which often involves a missing word. My first thought looking at dog was “dog tag,” and (once again, by pure luck) that proved accurate. Dog tag, freeze tag, phone tag, and price tag are all pretty common terms in English. The Purple group was actually named “___ Tag.”

How Do You Guess Connections Groups?

There is no quick, reliable way to approach Connections like there is with Wordle, since Connections isn’t algorithmic. However, there are a few things to keep in mind that can help.

1. Look for similar parts of speech. Are some words verbs and others nouns? Are some adjectives? Try mentally grouping them based on those categories and see if any other patterns jump out at you.
2. Are the words synonyms? Sometimes categories will just be synonyms for a phrase, or very close to synonyms. Don’t rely too closely on this, though. Occasionally, Connections will deliberately throw in words that are sometimes synonyms to mislead you.
3. Try saying the words. Sometimes, saying the words helps. One puzzle we saw included the words go, rate, faster, clip, pace, speed, move, commute, and hurry—all of which are obviously related to the idea of motion. However, when you say them, it becomes a little more obvious that only four (go, move, hurry, faster) are things you’d actually say to prompt someone to get moving.
4. Expect the red herring . Connections usually has words that could be plausibly, yet incorrectly, grouped together. Take the words Bud, Corona, and Light, as an example. You might instinctively see those three words together and assume they’re lumped together in a category related to beer—but they weren’t.
5. Look for distinct words. If a word on your board doesn’t have multiple meanings or can really only be used in one context, try using that word as the basis for a category.
6. Shuffle the board. Sometimes, moving words around will help you look at them in new ways.

If you didn’t solve this one, don’t feel too bad—there’s always tomorrow! And those words may align with a topic you’re interested in, giving you a leg up on the competition.

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