If you’re looking for the Connections answer for Sunday, September 1, 2024, read on—I’ll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solutions to all four categories. Along the way, I’ll explain the meanings of the trickier words and we’ll learn how everything fits together. Beware, there are spoilers below for September 1, NYT Connections #448! Read on if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today’s Connections game.
If you want an easy way to come back to our Connections hints every day, bookmark this page. You can also find our past hints there as well, in case you want to know what you missed in a previous puzzle.
Below, I’ll give you some oblique hints at today’s Connections answers. And farther down the page, I’ll reveal the themes and the answers. Scroll slowly and take just the hints you need!
Hints for the themes in today’s Connections puzzle
Here are some spoiler-free hints for the groupings in today’s Connections:
- Yellow category – Rare, medium, or well?
- Green category – You’ve got two sets of these on either side of your head.
- Blue category – That’s dark.
- Purple category – These all have a word in common, related to piloting or steering something.
BEWARE: Spoilers follow for today’s Connections puzzle!
We’re about to give away some of the answers. Scroll slowly if you don’t want the whole thing spoiled. (The full solution is a bit further down.)
A heads up about the tricky parts
I found today’s puzzle to be very challenging. In fact, I did not solve it.
SABLE is a dark color named after an animal.
Today’s green category requires some anatomical knowledge. (This might be helpful.)
Today’s purple category is honestly a little ridiculous. (Maybe I’m just bitter that I didn’t solve it.) To get the correct words, you’ll need to have knowledge of pop culture (one actor in particular), sports (one sport in particular), and home repair (one tool in particular).
What are the categories in today’s Connections?
- Yellow: COOK IN A PAN
- Green: PARTS OF THE EAR
- Blue: SHADES OF BLACK
- Purple: WHERE YOU MIGHT FIND “A DRIVER”
DOUBLE BEWARE: THE SOLUTION IS BELOW
Ready to learn the answers to today’s Connections puzzle? I give them all away below.
What are the yellow words in today’s Connections?
The yellow grouping is considered to be the most straightforward. The theme for today’s yellow group is COOK IN A PAN and the words are: BROWN, CHAR, GRILL, SEAR.
What are the green words in today’s Connections?
The green grouping is supposed to be the second-easiest. The theme for today’s green category is PARTS OF THE EAR and the words are: ANVIL, CANAL, DRUM, HAMMER.
What are the blue words in today’s Connections?
The blue grouping is the second-hardest. The theme for today’s blue category is SHADES OF BLACK and the words are: CHARCOAL, JET, RAVEN, SABLE.
What are the purple words in today’s Connections?
The purple grouping is considered to be the hardest. The theme for today’s purple category is WHERE YOU MIGHT FIND “A DRIVER” and the words are: GOLF BAG, LIMOUSINE, MOVIE SET, TOOLBOX.
How I solved today’s Connections
Right away, I see a few cooking methods: GRILL, SEAR, CHAR, and BROWN. CHARCOAL is throwing me off a little, though. I’ll keep looking to be sure.
SABLE is an animal, but it’s also the name for a dark brown or black color. That might go with CHARCOAL, actually. Maybe with RAVEN, too. Oh, and JET? Let’s try that. ? Nice.
All right, time to try BROWN, GRILL, CHAR, and SEAR. ?
Could there be a heavy objects category, with TOOLBOX, ANVIL, GOLF BAG, and HAMMER? I guess DRUM could fit there too, hmm.
The word “ear” fits before both DRUM and CANAL, but that seems like a dead end.
Yikes, I’m a little stuck here. I keep seeing ANVIL and think of objects getting dropped on cartoon characters—maybe that goes with HAMMER, GOLF BAG, and TOOLBOX? Let’s try. Nope!
Maybe the word “driver” applies to them? LIMOUSINEs have drivers, a GOLF BAG has a type of club called a driver… what else? I guess a driver might be a tool in a TOOLBOX? I gotta admit, I’m pretty stumped today. Let’s see.
OK, I’m “one away” with TOOLBOX, ANVIL, GOLF BAG, and LIMOUSINE. I think I might be onto something with the driver thing. Let’s get rid of ANVIL and try HAMMER. Still “one away.” Yikes. One guess remaining. No idea.
Huh, OK, parts of the ear is ANVIL, CANAL, DRUM, and HAMMER? Interesting. I did have a hunch there might be something to do with ears, but when I Googled ear anatomy earlier, I didn’t see ANVIL or HAMMER listed—maybe they’re more casual terms? Not sure.
Wow, that purple category is nasty. A MOVIE SET is where you’d find “A DRIVER,” referring to the actor Adam Driver, I assume. I hate that. I also am not very familiar with a driver being the name of a tool, but I am also not particularly handy. Oh well, can’t win them all.
How to play Connections
I have a full guide to playing Connections, but here’s a refresher on the rules:
First, find the Connections game either on the New York Times website or in their Games app (formerly the Crossword app). You’ll see a game board with 16 tiles, each with one word or phrase. Your job is to select a group of four tiles that have something in common. Often they are all the same type of thing (for example: RAIN, SLEET, HAIL, and SNOW are all types of wet weather) but sometimes there is wordplay involved (for example, BUCKET, GUEST, TOP TEN, and WISH are all types of lists: bucket list, guest list, and so on).
Select four items and hit the Submit button. If you guessed correctly, the category and color will be revealed. (Yellow is easiest, followed by green, then blue, then purple.) If your guess was incorrect, you’ll get a chance to try again.
You win when you’ve correctly identified all four groups. But if you make four mistakes before you finish, the game ends and the answers are revealed.
How to win Connections
The most important thing to know to win Connections is that the groupings are designed to be tricky. Expect to see overlapping groups. For example, one puzzle seemed to include six breakfast foods: BACON, EGG, PANCAKE, OMELET, WAFFLE, and CEREAL. But BACON turned out to be part of a group of painters along with CLOSE, MUNCH, and WHISTLER, and EGG was in a group of things that come by the dozen (along with JUROR, ROSE, and MONTH). So don’t hit “submit” until you’ve confirmed that your group of four contains only those four things.
If you’re stuck, another strategy is to look at the words that seem to have no connection to the others. If all that comes to mind when you see WHISTLER is the painting nicknamed “Whistler’s Mother,” you might be on to something. When I solved that one, I ended up googling whether 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, obviously, to read a few helpful hints–which is why we share these pointers every day. Check back tomorrow for the next puzzle!
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