It’s time to rejoice, as Saturday is finally here and so is another Connections puzzle, which Newsweek can help you solve.
Following the widespread success of Wordle—a game that captured the hearts of millions and was subsequently acquired by The New York Times in early 2022—the newspaper introduced a new puzzle, Connections, in 2023. It quickly became a favorite among brainteaser enthusiasts, with people taking to social media to share their daily progress.
Here Newsweek has provided instructions on how to play and clues to help you solve the game, but scroll with caution if you want to figure out the answers yourself, as they appear at the end of the article.
How to Play ‘Connections’
The brainteaser tasks players with grouping 16 words into four categories based on association.
Each of the four categories is labeled with a color, which also signifies their difficulty level. Yellow is the easiest category, followed by green, blue and purple. However, the puzzles are rarely straightforward, using homophones and wordplay, among other techniques, to keep things interesting.
The uniting themes can come from a broad range of categories—anything from classic Hollywood films to things you might find in a classroom. If you’re stuck, try selecting the “shuffle” button to move the words to a different place on the grid.
Wyna Liu, a crossword editor at The New York Times Times who was asked to develop Connections, told Newsweek about her recommended tips for playing the game.
“My best piece of advice is to wait as long as you can before guessing,” she said.
“You may see the board and have completely identified the category, seeing five words that could belong in that category,” she continued. “Don’t try to guess the four words in that category because even though you know what the fifth member is, you won’t know which of the four it might not be,” which would ultimately waste a turn.
“Don’t do what I do, which is ‘rage solve,’” Liu said.
‘Connections’ #559 Clues for Saturday, December 21
Newsweek has some hints to help you figure out today’s Connections categories.
Yellow: These words relate to a shape associated with jewelry.
Green: Items that can be found in the kitchen.
Blue: Different objects people can sleep on.
Purple: Four things that share the same name.
‘Connections’ #559 Answers for Saturday, December 21
Yellow Category: LOOP
Yellow Words: Band, Circle, Hoop, Ring
Green Category: COOKING VESSELS
Green Words: Casserole, Crock, Pan, Pot
Blue Category: KINDS OF BEDS
Blue Words: Bunk, Canopy, Murphy, Sleigh
Purple Category: THINGS CALLED “OSCAR”
Purple Words: Baloney, Grouch, O, Statuette
Did you guess the answers correctly? If so, congratulations. If not, there will be another opportunity to crack the puzzle on Sunday.
Connections is released at midnight in your local time zone. Newsweek will be back with another round of hints and tips for each new game.
The post ‘Connections’ December 21: Hints and Answers for Game #559 appeared first on Newsweek.
