The Wednesday edition of NYT Connections arrives with puzzle #1235, serving up a grid that shifts from everyday communication to exploration, with a final twist best tackled aloud.
What Makes Connections Tick
For newcomers, NYT Connections presents 16 words that must be sorted into four thematic groups of four. The twist? You're limited to four mistakes, and the color-coded difficulty system (yellow being easiest, purple being trickiest) means surface-level connections often mislead.
Since its June 2023 launch, Connections has carved out its niche in the Times' puzzle ecosystem, standing alongside Wordle and the crossword as a daily ritual for millions of players worldwide. The game's genius lies in its red herrings, words that could fit multiple categories but belong in only one.
Today's Grid at a Glance
Here are the 16 words staring back at you in puzzle #1235:
CURIOSITY | ROUT | SUBJECT | ATTRACTION
ATTACHMENT | SPIRIT | BODY | COARSE
CRUSH | WEIGH | SIGNATURE | INTEREST
RODE | OPPORTUNITY | FEELINGS | PERSEVERANCE
A seemingly random collection that somehow connects into four perfect categories.
Strategic Hints (No Spoilers Yet)
Yellow Category Nudge: Think about the language of personal connections.
Green Category Clue: Picture the tools you use to communicate at work.
Blue Category Hint: Give exploration a little room in your thinking.
Purple Category Teaser: Let your ears challenge what your eyes see.
The Full Solutions
Last chance to solve independently: answers below
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Yellow (Romantic Liking): ATTRACTION, CRUSH, FEELINGS, INTEREST
ATTRACTION, CRUSH, FEELINGS, and INTEREST all express romantic liking. ATTACHMENT is a tempting extra because it can also describe an emotional bond, but its assigned home is the email group.
Green (Components Of An Email): ATTACHMENT, BODY, SIGNATURE, SUBJECT
ATTACHMENT, BODY, SIGNATURE, and SUBJECT are components of an email: an included file, the main message, a sign-off block, and the topic line. This concrete setting gives ATTACHMENT a clear role despite its emotional meaning.
Blue (Nasa Mars Rovers): CURIOSITY, OPPORTUNITY, PERSEVERANCE, SPIRIT
CURIOSITY, OPPORTUNITY, PERSEVERANCE, and SPIRIT are names of NASA Mars rovers. Their everyday meanings disguise the connection, especially CURIOSITY, which can pull your attention toward INTEREST.
Purple (Homophones Of Paths): COARSE, RODE, ROUT, WEIGH
COARSE, RODE, ROUT, and WEIGH sound like course, road, route, and way, respectively, all words for paths. The ROUT pairing uses the pronunciation of route that rhymes with out.
The Verdict
Green offers the cleanest opening because BODY, SIGNATURE, and SUBJECT establish a concrete setting for ATTACHMENT. The early trap is letting ATTACHMENT join the romantic terms or treating CURIOSITY and INTEREST as the start of another set.
Blue is the knowledge checkpoint, while purple is the streak-deciding leap in this grid. Recognizing the rover names clears one hurdle, but the last connection requires switching from meanings to sounds and accepting the alternate pronunciation of route.
Reset and Repeat
Carry today's sound trick into tomorrow's grid: when the meanings stop helping, try saying the words aloud. Come back tomorrow for another fresh set of connections.
For now, puzzle #1235 is solved. See you at midnight for the next round.