Note: Make sure to complete today’s NYT Connections before reading further! We’ll be getting into spoilers for today’s game pretty quickly. If you need some help to complete the grid, you can find my NYT Connections hints and answers column for today via my author page.
Hey there, Connectors! Welcome to my deeper dive into today’s NYT Connections answers. The idea behind this is to help clear things up for anyone who isn’t sure how today’s groups fit together.
I’m going to assume that a) you know how to play NYT Connections and b) you’ve already beaten today’s game. If I’ve missed any red herrings or misunderstood something, let me know via email or on Discord. I don’t typically look at X or check the comments here.
We’re going straight into spoiler territory here. So, consider this your one and only warning.
Here are today’s NYT Connections answers explained (and any red herrings I spot) for Thursday, December 11:
Today’s NYT Connections Answers Explained
Connections – Yellow Group
Play Puzzles & Games on Forbes
🟨 things seen in a yard (GNOME, GRILL, SHED, SPRINKLER)
A garden GNOME is a funny little ceramic decorative guy that’s like a less-cool Smurf:
A GRILL is also known as a barbeque. The other two should be clear enough.
Connections – Green Group
🟩anagrams (ARES, EARS, SEAR, SERA)
Straightforward stuff here. These are four words spelled with the same four letters in different orders.
Connections – Blue Group
🟦 letter homophones (ARE, ELLE, QUE, QUEUE)
Again, not too complicated here, but those who aren’t sure how to pronounce “QUE” may be in a spot of bother.
- ARE > “R”
- ELLE > “L”
- QUE > “K”
- QUEUE > “Q”
Connections – Purple Group
🟪 dust _____ (BOWL, BUNNY, DEVIL, JACKET)
During the 1930s, a string of intense dust storms wreaked havoc on the U.S. and Canadian prairies, damaging agriculture and the ecology. This phenomenon was known as the Dust BOWL. Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns made a miniseries about it.
A dust BUNNY is a clump of dust and other debris that accumulates in one’s home. Seeing one is a good reminder to vacuum a bit more often, since these things can get caught in the vents of electronics and obstruct airflow.
A dust DEVIL is a strong whirlwind with a relatively short lifespan. They’re typically found in temperate and tropical regions. Here’s a good, succinct explainer with unnecessarily dramatic music:
Finally, a dust JACKET is a detachable outer cover for a book. It’s mainly there to protect the tome from damage, but it can be used to help promote the book by, for instance, featuring snippets of positive reviews.
Connections – Red Herrings
The pair of GRILL and SEAR was the only real red herring I found this time. Did you see something else? Let me know!
If you’d like to chat about today’s game of NYT Connections with a group of exceptionally cool and lovely people and also me, you can do just that in our Discord community. We’d love to have you join us.
I’ll be back with another set of NYT Connections hints and answers tomorrow, as well as another edition of this one, all going well. You’ll be able to find both of those on my Forbes author page when the time comes (following me there helps me out too!). As for the weekend editions of my NYT Connections hints and answers column, I’m currently doing that via my newsletter, Pastimes.
