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 Connections answers. The idea behind this is to help clear things up for anyone who isn’t sure how today’s groups fit together.
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.
I’m going to assume that you’ve already beaten today’s game. 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 Friday, August 14:
Today’s NYT Connections Answers Explained
Connections – Yellow Group
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🟨 black-and-yellow (BUMBLEBEE, CAUTION TAPE, CHARLIE BROWN, WOLVERINE)
I’m just going to show you photos of the BUMBLEEBEE and CAUTION TAPE, both of which are black and yellow.
CHARLIE BROWN is the main character in the Peanuts comic strip. He usually wears black and yellow clothing:
WOVERINE refers to the Marvel superhero. His classic costume, as seen in the brilliant ’90s cartoon, is yellow and black (and blue and red):
Connections – Green Group
🟩 places where everyone thinks the same way (BUBBLE, ECHO CHAMBER, HIVEMIND, SILO)
The category title handles things for us here. These are basically synonyms, as far as I’m aware. They all refer to concepts of a group having the same mindset, often while rejecting or shutting out conflicting ideologies.
Connections – Blue Group
🟦 comic book artist’s tools (BRISTOL BOARD, DIP PEN, INDIA INK, STRAIGHTEDGE)
BRISTOL BOARD is a type of paper-based material that many comic artists prefer to draw and ink on. It’s thicker than most types of drawing paper, so it can prevent bleeding.
A DIP PEN gets its name from dipping into an inkwell to refill the ink. It often has an interchangeable nib to allow for lines of varying thicknesses.
INDIA INK is a type of colored ink used in the creation of comic books.
A STRAIGHTEDGE is a tool used to draw straight lines, such as ruler or triangle.
Connections – Purple Group
🟪 triangle logos (BASS ALE, CITGO, DELTA AIRLINES, GOOGLE DRIVE)
These are all triangular logos for various companies and brands. Oddly enough.
I don’t believe I’ve ever had a BASS ALE. This was a pretty interesting dive into its background and links to the British Empire. You can see the red triangle logo in the thumbnail:
I didn’t know CITGO either. It’s an oil and gas company:
I should have been able to figure this category out from the last two terms. Here’s the DELTA AIRLINES logo:
And the GOOGLE DRIVE logo:
Connections – Red Herrings
CHARLIE BROWN, DELTA AIRLINES, ECHO CHAMBER and INDIA INK all start with words used in the NATO phonetic alphabet.
If you’d like to chat about today’s game of Connections and just about anything else with me and a very lovely group of people, you can do just that in our Discord community. We’d love for you to hang out with 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.