Good Morning Word Game Enthusiasts!

Let’s dive into Connections, the New York Times’ intriguing word game that challenges players to categorize answers into different groups. It’s a fun and challenging game, so keep reading for some helpful hints.

Once you’ve completed the Connections game, why not indulge in more wordplay? Check out daily Strands and Quordle hints and answers for additional brain-teasing fun. And if you’re a fan of the original viral word game, head over to Marc’s Wordle today page for more word puzzling excitement.

SPOILER WARNING: Details about today’s NYT Connections game are ahead, so proceed with caution if you want to figure out the answers on your own.

NYT Connections today (game #553) – today’s words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today’s NYT Connections words are…

THUMB
KEY
LEAF
STYLE
MACE
MAR
FLAIL
FLIP
SPEAR
CLOVE
TANK
PEPPER
RIFFLE
FLOUNDER
NUTMEG
FLOP

NYT Connections today (game #553) – hint #1 – group hints

What are some clues for today’s NYT Connections groups?

YELLOW: Seasonings
GREEN: Below par
BLUE: Browsing
PURPLE: Popular vocalists

Need more clues?

We’re firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today’s NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #553) – hint #2 – group answers

What are the answers for today’s NYT Connections groups?

YELLOW: SPICES
GREEN: PERFORM POORLY
BLUE: SKIM THROUGH, AS PAGES
PURPLE: POP SINGERS MINUS “S”

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #553) – the answers

NYT Connections answers for game 553 on a purple background — (Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today’s Connections, game #553, are…

YELLOW: SPICES CLOVE, MACE, NUTMEG, PEPPER
GREEN: PERFORM POORLY FLAIL, FLOP, FLOUNDER, TANK
BLUE: SKIM THROUGH, AS PAGES FLIP, LEAF, RIFFLE, THUMB
PURPLE: POP SINGERS MINUS “S” KEY, MAR, SPEAR, STYLE

My rating: Easy
My score: Perfect

As someone who is known to PERFORM BADLY at Connections, it’s no surprise that I landed on the Green group first today – although I did momentarily think the connection was “Things you do when drunk”.

POP SINGERS MINUS “S” was a good one, especially as SPEAR could have been a weapon along with RIFLE and MACE.

I’m off to listen to Empire State of Mind.

Yesterday’s NYT Connections answers (Saturday, 14 December, game #552)

YELLOW: FISH FLUKE, MULLET, SOLE, TANG
GREEN: WORDS IN AN AUCTION-ENDING PHRASE GOING, ONCE, SOLD, TWICE
BLUE: GLOBAL CURRENCIES POUND, REAL, SOL, YUAN
PURPLE: WORDS BEFORE “CUP” BUTTER, DIVA, SOLO, WORLD

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough, and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don’t technically need to solve the final one, as you’ll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What’s more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It’s a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It’s playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.