Here are some hints — and the answers — for Connections No. 539 for Sunday, Dec. 1.
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of “Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the ’70s and ’80s,” as well as “The Totally Sweet ’90s.” She’s been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She’s Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she’ll be first in line.
Expertise Breaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, and generational studies Credentials
- Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won “Headline Writer of the Year” award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.
Need the answers for the New York Times Connections puzzle? To me, Wordle is more of a vocabulary test, but Connections is more of a brainteaser. You’re given 16 words and asked to put them into four groups that are somehow connected. Sometimes they’re obvious, but game editor Wyna Liu knows how to trick you by using words that can fit into more than one group. Read on for today’s Connections hints and answers.
There’s also news in the Connections world. The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one it’s had for some time for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. And players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.
Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time
How to play Connections
Playing is easy. Winning is hard. Look at the 16 words and mentally assign them to related groups of four. Click on the four words you think go together. The groups are coded by color, though you don’t know what goes where until you see the answers. The yellow group is the easiest, then green, then blue, and purple is the toughest. Look at the words carefully and think about related terms. Sometimes the connection has to do with just a part of the word. Once, four words were grouped because each started with the name of a rock band, including “Rushmore” and “Journeyman.”
Read more: New NYT Connections Game for Sports Fans Lets Players Swing for the Fences
Hints for today’s Connections groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest, yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Safe place.
Green group hint: Hut, hut!
Blue group hint: Sweets for the sweet.
Purple group hint: Land of the ____.
Answers for today’s Connections groups
Yellow group: Sanctuary.
Green group: Football gear.
Blue group: Candy names.
Purple group: Free ____
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections answers?
The completed NYT Connections puzzle for Dec. 1, 2024.
NYT/Screenshot by CNETThe yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is sanctuary. The four answers are haven, port, retreat and shelter.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is football gear. The four answers are cleats, helmet, jersey and pads.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is candy names. The four answers are Charms, Kinder, Wonka and York.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is free ____. The four answers are Bird, Fallin, Solo and Willy.
