If today’s NYT Connections puzzle (Game #909) has you stumped, you’re not alone. Saturday’s challenge includes tricky word associations and a clever purple category that has already sparked discussion among fans. Whether you’re aiming to keep your winning streak alive or simply need a push in the right direction, we’ve gathered helpful hints—and the full solutions below.
Connections asks players to group 16 words into four themed categories, each with four words. The groups range across difficulty levels:
Green – Easy
Yellow – Medium
Blue – Hard
Purple – Tricky / Most difficult
Players can make up to four mistakes before the puzzle ends, adding pressure as the board begins to narrow.
Before revealing the full answers, here are progressive hints:
Yellow Category: Middling
Green Category: Calming words
Blue Category: Singular members of animated franchises
Purple Category: Words that begin with animals (herpetofauna)
Today’s purple category is the trickiest and involves animals within the reptile and amphibian family.
Stop scrolling now if you want to solve the puzzle on your own.
🎉 Final Answers Below
AVERAGE, MEAN, PAR, STANDARD
COOL, MODERATE, SETTLE, TEMPER
CAR, INCREDIBLE, MINION, MONSTER
ADDERALL, MONITORSHIP, NEWTON, TOADY
Many players found the puzzle straightforward overall, but the purple grouping was a challenge due to the indirect reference to reptiles and amphibians (adder, monitor lizard, newt, toad). The blue group also tripped up some solvers despite clear references to well-known animated franchises such as Cars, The Incredibles, Minions, and Monsters Inc.
Yellow: COMPLEX, DELICATE, STICKY, TOUGH
Green: DEAL, SITUATION, STATUS, STORY
Blue: MASTERMIND, MOUSETRAP, OPERATION, SORRY
Purple: BABY, PILLOW, SMALL, SWEET (____ TALK)
Connections is free to play via the NYT Games platform on desktop and mobile. For more puzzle help, players often pair their Connections sessions with:
Wordle
Strands
Mini Crossword
Quordle
The game continues to surge in popularity due to its balance of linguistic challenge, pattern recognition, and daily competition.
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