If you’re looking for the Connections answer for Saturday, April 20, 2024, read on—I’ll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solutions to all four categories. Along the way, I’ll explain the meanings of the trickier words and we’ll learn how everything fits together. Beware, there are spoilers below for April 20, NYT Connections #314! Read on if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today’s Connections game.
If you want an easy way to come back to our Connections hints every day, bookmark this page. You can also find our past hints there as well, in case you want to know what you missed in a previous puzzle.
Below, I’ll give you some oblique hints at today’s Connections answers. And farther down the page, I’ll reveal the themes and the answers. Scroll slowly and take just the hints you need!
Hints for the themes in today’s Connections puzzle
Here are some spoiler-free hints for the groupings in today’s Connections:
Yellow category - This category is nonsense.
Green category - Stuff that might make an appearance at the summer Olympics.
Blue category - Found at your local Spirit Halloween store.
Purple category - All tied up.
BEWARE: Spoilers follow for today’s Connections puzzle!
We’re about to give away some of the answers. Scroll slowly if you don’t want the whole thing spoiled. (The full solution is a bit further down.)
A heads up about the tricky parts
There’s no animal-related category today, despite there being a lot of animal words on the board.
Those who like to sail or who were in the Boy Scouts might have an easier time with today’s purple category.
What are the categories in today’s Connections?
Yellow: BALDERDASH
Green: TRACK AND FIELD EQUIPMENT
Blue: PARTS OF A DEVIL COSTUME
Purple: TYPES OF KNOTS
DOUBLE BEWARE: THE SOLUTION IS BELOW
Ready to learn the answers to today’s Connections puzzle? I give them all away below.
What are the yellow words in today’s Connections?
The yellow grouping is considered to be the most straightforward. The theme for today’s yellow group is BALDERDASH and the words are: BUNK, CROCK, HOGWASH, HORSEFEATHERS.
What are the green words in today’s Connections?
The green grouping is supposed to be the second-easiest. The theme for today’s green category is TRACK AND FIELD EQUIPMENT and the words are: BATON, HAMMER, HURDLE, POLE.
What are the blue words in today’s Connections?
The blue grouping is the second-hardest. The theme for today’s blue category is PARTS OF A DEVIL COSTUME and the words are: GOATEE, HORNS, PITCHFORK, TAIL.
What are the purple words in today’s Connections?
The purple grouping is considered to be the hardest. The theme for today’s purple category is TYPES OF KNOTS and the words are: BEND, BOWLINE, HITCH, SHEEPSHANK.
How I solved today’s Connections
Connections likes to do categories where the first part of the words all relate, so I immediately see GOATEE, HOGWASH, SHEEPSHANK, and HORSEFEATHERS as words that all contain animals at the beginning. Oops, I’ve been tricked. Humbling.
With a newfound sense of skepticism, I scan the board and notice that HORNS, PITCHFORK, and TAIL all seem demonic. GOATEE kind of fits, I guess, if I think of stereotypical depictions of evil characters with twisty mustaches and goatees for stroking menacingly. It feels like a stretch, but let’s try it. Phew! 🟦
HOGWASH, CROCK, and BUNK all seem to fit as words that mean “nonsense,” but I’m not sure what goes with it. Ah, maybe HORSEFEATHERS? 🟨
BATON, HURDLE, and POLE all seem like track and field words, but I’m not sure what else goes with it. HAMMER maybe, as in something one might throw? Bingo. 🟩
I have no idea what SHEEPSHANK means, honestly, but HITCH, BOWLINE, and BEND all seem to describe things that have a twist or a turn in them. Oh, apparently they’re all kinds of knots. OK! 🟪
Connections Puzzle #314 🟦🟨🟪🟨 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟪🟪🟪
How to play Connections
I have a full guide to playing Connections, but here’s a refresher on the rules:
First, find the Connections game either on the New York Times website or in their Games app (formerly the Crossword app). You’ll see a game board with 16 tiles, each with one word or phrase. Your job is to select a group of four tiles that have something in common. Often they are all the same type of thing (for example: RAIN, SLEET, HAIL, and SNOW are all types of wet weather) but sometimes there is wordplay involved (for example, BUCKET, GUEST, TOP TEN, and WISH are all types of lists: bucket list, guest list, and so on).
Select four items and hit the Submit button. If you guessed correctly, the category and color will be revealed. (Yellow is easiest, followed by green, then blue, then purple.) If your guess was incorrect, you’ll get a chance to try again.
You win when you’ve correctly identified all four groups. But if you make four mistakes before you finish, the game ends and the answers are revealed.
How to win Connections
The most important thing to know to win Connections is that the groupings are designed to be tricky. Expect to see overlapping groups. For example, one puzzle seemed to include six breakfast foods: BACON, EGG, PANCAKE, OMELET, WAFFLE, and CEREAL. But BACON turned out to be part of a group of painters along with CLOSE, MUNCH, and WHISTLER, and EGG was in a group of things that come by the dozen (along with JUROR, ROSE, and MONTH). So don’t hit “submit” until you’ve confirmed that your group of four contains only those four things.
If you’re stuck, another strategy is to look at the words that seem to have no connection to the others. If all that comes to mind when you see WHISTLER is the painting nicknamed “Whistler’s Mother,” you might be on to something. When I solved that one, I ended up googling whether there was a painter named Close, because Close didn’t fit any of the obvious themes, either.
Another way to win when you’re stuck is, obviously, to read a few helpful hints–which is why we share these pointers every day. Check back tomorrow for the next puzzle!