If you are looking for the Connections Answer for Monday, July 22, 2024, keep reading – I’ll share some hints, tips and strategies, and finally the solutions for all four categories. Along the way, I’ll explain the meaning of the most difficult words and we’ll learn how it all fits together. Warning, there are spoilers below for NYT Connections #407 from July 22! Read on if you want some clues (and then the answer) to today’s Connections game.
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Below, I’ll give you some oblique hints about today’s Connections answers. And further down the page, I’ll reveal the themes and answers. Scroll slowly and pick up just the hints you need!
Hints for today’s Connections puzzle themes
Here are some spoiler-free hints about today’s Connections groupings:
- Yellow Category – How a scientist might describe his or her specialty.
- Green Category – You could play one of these in a band or orchestra.
- Blue Category – Useful for visibility and safety on the road.
- Purple Category – One word to fill in, referring to sustenance.
WARNING: Spoilers for today’s Connections puzzle!
We are about to reveal some answers to you. Scroll down slowly if you don’t want to spoil everything. (The full solution is a little further down.)
A warning about delicate parts
There is no shape category today. I know, I am as angry as you are.
RECORDER and PROCESSOR do not go together.
CONE refers to the bright orange thing you might see near a construction site.
What are the categories in Today’s Connections?
- Yellow: AREA OF EXPERTISE
- Green: MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
- Blue: USED TO REDIRECT TRAFFIC
- Purple: FOOD ___
ATTENTION: THE SOLUTION IS BELOW
Ready to find out the answers to today’s Connections riddle? I’ll reveal them below.
What are the yellow words in today’s Connections?
The yellow group is considered the simplest. The theme of today’s yellow group is AREA OF EXPERTISE and the words are: AREA, DOMAIN, FIELD, SPHERE.
What are the green words in today’s Connections?
The green group is supposed to be the second easiest. Today’s green category theme is MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS and the words are: VIOLIN, HORN, RECORDER, TRIANGLE.
What are the blue words in today’s Connections?
The blue group is the second most difficult. Today’s blue category theme is USED TO REDIRECT TRAFFIC and the words are: BARRIER, CONE, FLAG, TWIST.
What are the purple words in today’s Connections?
The purple group is considered the most difficult. The theme of today’s purple category is FOOD ___ and the words are: CHAIN, FIGHT, PROCESSOR, PYRAMID.
How I Solved Today’s Connections
PYRAMID and CONE take me back to geometry class, so maybe there are other shapes on the board. Yes, I see TRIANGLE and SPHERE. No! No luck. I got fooled.
The VIOLIN, RECORDER and HORN could all be instruments, but I don’t see a fourth.
AREA, DOMAIN, SPHERE, and FIELD all seem to be synonyms for someone’s field of vision. ? OK, so SPHERE is officially out of the shape category.
BARRIER, CONE and CHAIN could all be words referring to the confinement of something, like “cone of silence”, for example.
A HORN, a TRIANGLE, a PYRAMID and a CONE all have a flared (or widened) shape. Hmm. Today, this is a tricky question.
Oh, maybe the RECORDER, VIOLIN, HORN and TRIANGLE are all musical instruments.?
CONE, FLARE, CHAIN and FLAG jump out at me, but I don’t know why – I’m out of ideas, so I throw in a Hail Mary and see what happens. “One more.” OK, so I’m close to somethingI would like to know what it is.
Oh, FLARE, FLAG, CONE and BARRIER are things on the road that control traffic in an emergency.
All that’s left is CHAIN, FIGHT, PROCESSOR, PYRAMID. My brain is fried at this point, so let’s see what happens. ? Oh, FOOD ___. I need a nap, or maybe a coffee.
How to play Connections
I have a full tank guide to playing Connectionsbut here is a reminder of the rules:
First, find the Connections game either on the New York Times website or in their Game application (formerly the Crossword app). You’ll see a game board with 16 tiles, each with a word or phrase. Your job is to select a group of four tiles that have something in common. Often, they’re all the same type (for example: RAIN, ICE, HAIL, and SNOW are all types of wet weather) but sometimes there’s a play on words involved (for example, BUCKET, GUEST, TOP TEN, and WISH are all types of lists(to-do list, guest list, etc.).
Select four items and press the Submit button. If you guess correctly, the category and color will be revealed. (Yellow is easiest, followed by green, then blue, then purple.) If your guess is incorrect, you’ll have the opportunity to try again.
You win when you correctly identify all four groups. But if you make four mistakes before you finish, the game ends and the answers are revealed.
How to gain connections
The most important thing to know about winning Connections is that the groupings are designed to be tricky. Expect to see groups overlap. For example, one puzzle appeared to include six breakfast foods: BACON, EGG, PANCAKE, OMELETTE, WAFFLE, and CEREAL. But BACON turned out to be part of a group of painters with CLOSE, MUNCH and WHISTLER, and EGG was part of a group of things that come in dozens (along with JUROR, ROSE and MONTH). So don’t hit “submit” until you’ve confirmed that your group of four contains only these four things.
If you get stuck, another strategy is to look at words that seem to have No connection with others. If all that comes to mind when you see WHISTLER is the painting nicknamed “Whistler’s Mother” you may be right. When I solved this problem, I ended up googling if 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, of course, to read some helpful tips. That’s why we share these tips every day. Come back tomorrow for the next puzzle!