Not the Connections game you’re looking for? Here are the hints and answers for Thursday’s game.
If you want to hang out with a lovely bunch of folks and chat about NYT Connections, other daily puzzle games and even the World Cup, join our Discord community!
Hey there, Connectors! I hope you’ve had a brilliant week. The weekend is almost here, so let’s make sure you get there with your Connections streak intact.
You may have heard that PlayStation is doing away with game discs, as it’s shifting to an all-digital future. This affects third-party games as well. Despite the petitions and widespread outrage, I don’t think Sony will reverse course on the decision.
While this shift was always likely to happen at some point, I think the fury is justified for several reasons. One of those is how this affects game preservation. I recently wrote a piece that lays out some of the issues around that and why ditching game discs is such a problem. I hope you’ll check it out.
Today’s NYT Connections hints and answers for Friday, July 10 are coming right up. Let’s get rolling!
Play Puzzles & Games on Forbes
How To Play Connections
Connections is a free daily New York Times game that challenges you to arrange a grid of 16 words, phrases or symbols into four groups. The categories can involve anything from simple synonyms and cultural references to words that start with homonyms for birds.
There’s only one correct answer. Connections often features red herrings and other tricks like wordplay. You can make three mistakes, but a fourth spells game over and the end of your current streak!
The categories are color coded. Yellow is supposed to be the easiest to figure out, followed by green, blue and then purple. But it’s all relative as Connections tests your knowledge and deductive reasoning skills.
You can track your stats over time and earn badges for achievements like lengthy streaks or achieving a reverse rainbow. This involves submitting the purple category first, followed by blue, green and yellow. I’m here to help players figure out which is which.
You can play Connections on the NYT website or NYT Games app. NYT subscribers can access the full archive of more than 1,100 games of Connections. Each day’s game goes live at midnight local time.
Today’s NYT Connections Word List
Scroll slowly!
After today’s Connections word list, I’ll give you a hint for each category. After that, I’ll reveal one word that goes into each group. Then I’ll reveal the categories, followed by the full answers.
Got it? Cool.
Today’s 16 words are…
- OUTKAST
- DEPECHE MODE
- FRESH-BAKED
- BALL GOWN
- DO NOT DISTURB
- À LA MODE
- STRIKE A POSE
- AIRPLANE MODE
- ERASURE
- SAFE MODE
- DECADENT
- NEW ORDER
- HOTSPOT
- PET SHOP BOYS
- MOLTEN
- LOCATION SERVICES
A Hint For Today’s Connections Groups
The hints for today’s Connections categories are:
- 🟨 Yellow group — gonna get myself connected (or not)
- 🟩 Green group — unsavory terms?
- 🟦 Blue group — melody makers from a particular era
- 🟪 Purple group — left behind at home (plate)?
One Answer For Each Connections Group
Be warned: we’re starting to get into spoiler territory.
Let’s take a look at one answer for each group.
Here we go…
- 🟨 Yellow group — HOTSPOT
- 🟩 Green group — À LA MODE
- 🟦 Blue group — NEW ORDER
- 🟪 Purple group — BALL GOWN
Today’s Connections Categories
Today’s Connections groups are…
- 🟨 Yellow group — smartphone settings
- 🟩 Green group — dessert menu descriptors
- 🟦 Blue group — ’80s synth-pop bands
- 🟪 Purple group — starting with baseball calls
What Is The Answer For Connections Today?
Spoiler alert! Don’t scroll any further down the page until you’re ready to find out today’s Connections answers.
This is your last chance to look away.
This is your final warning!
Today’s Connections answers are…
- 🟨 Yellow group — smartphone settings (AIRPLANE MODE, DO NOT DISTURB, HOTSPOT, LOCATION SERVICES)
- 🟩 Green group — dessert menu descriptors (DECADENT, FRESH-BAKED, MOLTEN, À LA MODE)
- 🟦 Blue group — ’80s synth-pop bands (DEPECHE MODE, ERASURE, NEW ORDER, PET SHOP BOYS)
- 🟪 Purple group — starting with baseball calls (BALL GOWN, OUTKAST, SAFE MODE, STRIKE A POSE)
Phone stuff? Great ’80s synth-pop bands? OUTKAST? Baseball? Desserts? Was this puzzle made specifically for me?
I got the bands immediately, and then tried my luck with the phone stuff. I included SAFE MODE on my first couple of attempts before realizing that didn’t quite fit. Then the yellows came together.
At that point, the baseball terms jumped out at me. And that left the desserts to wrap things up for my 495th win on my current streak.
Terrific puzzle. A+. Zero notes.
How did you get on this time? Here’s my grid:
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟨🟨🟪🟨
🟨🟨🟪🟨
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟪🟪🟪🟪
🟩🟩🟩🟩
Want to know more about how everything fits together? Let’s explore today’s game in more depth in my NYT Connections Answers Explained column. You can check that out by visiting my author page.
And that brings my current stint of weekday Connections hints and answers here to a close. I’ll be back with you for more shenanigans on Monday. In the meantime, you can read my weekend editions of this column and more of my writing at my newsletter, Pastimes.
P.S. I started listening to Montreal band Spite House after they were announced for the city’s edition of Warped Tour. I do enjoy a bit of post-hardcore and I like them quite a bit! Their latest album, Desertion, rips and the heart-wrenching “Desert” is a good intro to the band. I’m definitely going to have to try to catch their Warped set:
Have a great day! Stay hydrated! Be kind to yourself and each other! Call someone you love!
Please follow my blog for more NYT Connections hints and help with other word games, and even some video game news, insights and analysis. I’d really appreciate that as it helps me out. If you share this column with others who play Connections, that would be lovely too.