Decoding the Puzzle: Insights Into The NYT’s May 17 Connection Challenge (Hint Set #341)

Quick Links

• What Is Connections?
• Hints for Today’s Connections Groups
• What Are Today’s Connections Groups?
• Today’s NYT Connections Answers
• How Did We Solve This Connections Game?
• How Do You Guess Connections Groups?

Connections is a game from the New York Times that challenges you to find the association between words. It sounds easy, but it isn’t—Connections categories can be almost anything, and they’re usually quite specific. If you need a hand getting the answers, we’ve got you covered.

What Is Connections?

Connections is a game from the New York Times. The objective is simple: sort 16 words into groups of 4. Each group of words will be connected by some common idea or theme. That common element could be anything. We have seen everything from games that rely on the number of letters in the words to categories that require you to spot an extra letter at the end of the word. Sometimes they’re references to economics, other times they reference fairy tales. There is no telling what sort of association there will be between words.

Once you’re confident you understand the connection, select 4 words, then hit “Submit.” You have only four attempts in total, so don’t be too guess-happy.

Hints for Today’s Connections Groups

Here are a few hints for the 341st Connections game to get you started:

• Yellow: It is said that power does this.
• Green: Get in touch with.
• Blue: Elements in a painting genre.
• Purple: The missing word is an alcoholic drink.

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What Are Today’s Connections Groups?

If you still need help, the actual group names are:

• Yellow: Corrupt
• Green: Reach Out To
• Blue: Classic Still Life Components
• Purple: Beer _____

Today’s NYT Connections Answers

Corrupt (Yellow):

Base, Dirty, Low, Vile

Reach Out To (Green):

Contact, Message, Ping, Text

Classic Still Life Components (Blue):

Fruit, Pitcher, Skull, Tablecloth

Beer _____ (Purple):

Batter, Can, Garden, Pong

How Did We Solve This Connections Game?

May 17th wasn’t too hard, except for the Blue group.

The first group I spotted was Green. Contact, message, ping, and text are obviously all related to communication of some kind, though exactly what sort wasn’t clear. However, it was enough to think they should be together. The proper group name was “Reach Out To.”

Next, I noticed the Yellow group. Dirty, low, and vile are all very negative ways of describing someone. The rest of the words really aren’t, except for base, which sometimes can be. Together, they were all words that can mean the same thing as “Corrupt.”

In an unexpected turn of events, I spotted Purple next. Batter, can, garden, and pong are all words that pair with beer. Beer batter (like on a piece of fried fish), a beer can, beer garden (sorta a type of restaurant), and beer pong, the stereotypical party game. I had to resist the urge to put ping and pong, together though. The group was just “Beer ______.”

That left fruit, pitcher, skull, and tablecloth. I was thoroughly and completely lost here and couldn’t find the connection. Blue was “Classic Still Life Components.” Still Life, if you don’t know, is a type of art (usually paintings) that depicts mundane objects. It’ll commonly be things like fruit on a table with a candle. Modern Still Life art includes contemporary objects, too, like phones, computers, and so on. Still, that was pretty tough.

How Do You Guess Connections Groups?

There is no quick, reliable way to approach Connections like there is with Wordle, since Connections isn’t algorithmic. However, there are a few things to keep in mind that can help.

1. Look for similar parts of speech. Are some words verbs and others nouns? Are some adjectives? Try mentally grouping them based on those categories and see if any other patterns jump out at you.
2. Are the words synonyms? Sometimes categories will just be synonyms for a phrase, or very close to synonyms. Don’t rely too closely on this, though. Occasionally, Connections will deliberately throw in words that are sometimes synonyms to mislead you.
3. Try saying the words. Sometimes, saying the words helps. One puzzle we saw included the words go, rate, faster, clip, pace, speed, move, commute, and hurry—all of which are obviously related to the idea of motion. However, when you say them, it becomes a little more obvious that only four (go, move, hurry, faster) are things you’d actually say to prompt someone to get moving.
4. Expect the red herring . Connections usually has words that could be plausibly, yet incorrectly, grouped together. Take the words Bud, Corona, and Light, as an example. You might instinctively see those three words together and assume they’re lumped together in a category related to beer—but they weren’t.
5. Look for distinct words. If a word on your board doesn’t have multiple meanings or can really only be used in one context, try using that word as the basis for a category.
6. Shuffle the board. Sometimes, moving words around will help you look at them in new ways.

If you didn’t solve this one, don’t feel too bad—there’s always tomorrow! And those words may align with a topic you’re interested in, giving you a leg up on the competition.