Want today’s Connections answers?
They’re below. I also link to the daily hints for Mini Crossword, Wordle Strands and Sports Edition if you need those distractions.
I found today’s grid #1071 to be… annoying. Read on if you’re stuck. Or if you just like reading other people’s mistakes.
The Times has that Connections Bot now, like they did for Wordle. Run it after you play. It spits out a numeric score, breaks down your answers, lets the registered nerds among us track stats like win rate, perfect scores, and streaks. We’re obsessed, obviously.
Check the full guide for hints and strategies if you’re really struggling to win every single time.
Hints for the May 17 Grid
Four clues here. Ranked from easy yellow to the usually nonsensical purple.
- Yellow group: It may carry fluids or stuff like that.
- Green group: What a con artist pulls.
- Blue group: Earl Grey. Hot.
- Purple group: Place for education.
The Actual Answers
Yellow: Conduit.
Green: Swindle.
Blue: Tea-making verbs.
Purple: “School” modifiers.
What did you actually get?
The yellow words
Theme is Conduit.
Answers: duct, line, main, pipe.
Basic plumbing stuff. Or wiring. Doesn’t matter.
The green words
Theme is Swindle.
Answers: fleece, hose, squeeze, stiff.
“Stiffing someone on the tab” feels distinct from getting fleeced, but sure, they all mean scamming someone out of cash. Or goods.
The blue words
Theme is Tea-making verbs.
Answers: boil, pour, steep, strain.
Don’t forget the steep. That’s the important part.
The purple words
Theme is “School” modifiers.
Answers: grade, grammar, high, primary.
These are tough because you keep thinking about the noun “school” and not what goes before it. Why do they do this to us?
Remembering the Hard Ones
We keep notes on the absolute worst puzzles so you can spot the patterns. Or complain about them in comments.
- “Things you can set.” Mood, record, table, volleyball.
- “One in a dozen.” Egg, juror, month, rose.
- “Streets on screen.” Elm, Fear, Jump, Sesame.
- “Power ___.” Nap, plant, Ranger, trip.
- “Things that can run.” Candidate, faucet, mascara, nose.
That first one with the candidate always hurts. Why do we let politics invade the puzzle?
You’re probably still staring at the board right now. Thinking it’s over.
Maybe go make that tea first.
