The Saturday edition of NYT Connections arrives with puzzle #930, serving up a grid that rewards vocabulary precision and lateral thinking. Today's challenge particularly favors frequent flyers and those who can spot sneaky word endings that hide alcoholic beverages.
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 #930:
CREDIT | VILLAGER | CALLING | FIRST
BUSINESS | NAME | REPORT | NAMESAKE
DECIDER | PREMIUM | CRAFT | ECONOMY
LINE | CITE | TRADE | REFERENCE
A seemingly random collection that somehow connects into four perfect categories.
Strategic Hints (No Spoilers Yet)
Yellow Category Nudge: Think about how airlines categorize their passengers.
Green Category Clue: These are all ways to acknowledge or mention something.
Blue Category Hint: Consider different ways people describe their professions.
Purple Category Teaser: Each word ends with the name of an alcoholic beverage when you say it out loud.
The Full Solutions
Last chance to solve independently: answers below
Yellow (Airline Classes): BUSINESS, ECONOMY, FIRST, PREMIUM
These four words represent the standard cabin classes offered by commercial airlines. BUSINESS and ECONOMY are the most common, with FIRST representing the top-tier luxury class and PREMIUM often referring to premium economy or business class variations.
The category is straightforward for frequent travelers but might trip up those who don't fly regularly.
Green (Attribute): CITE, CREDIT, NAME, REFERENCE
This category groups words that all relate to giving acknowledgment or mentioning something. You CITE a source, give CREDIT to someone, NAME a person or thing, and REFERENCE material.
The connection is semantic rather than thematic, requiring players to think about how these words function in academic or professional contexts rather than their surface meanings.
Blue (Vocation): CALLING, CRAFT, LINE, TRADE
These four words all describe types of work or professions. CALLING suggests a vocation or life's work, CRAFT refers to skilled manual work, LINE can mean a line of work or business, and TRADE denotes a skilled job requiring training.
The category plays on the multiple meanings of "line" and "trade," which could mislead solvers into thinking about commerce rather than employment.
Purple (Ending With Alcoholic Beverages): DECIDER, NAMESAKE, REPORT, VILLAGER
This is the trickiest category, requiring players to think phonetically rather than semantically. Each word ends with a sound that matches an alcoholic beverage: DECIDER ends with "cider," NAMESAKE ends with "sake," REPORT ends with "port," and VILLAGER ends with "lager." The category punishes those who look for thematic connections and rewards those who think about word sounds and endings.
The Verdict
Puzzle #930 registers as moderate difficulty with a sting in the tail. Yellow falls quickly for anyone who recognizes airline terminology, while green requires thinking about attribution and acknowledgment.
Blue separates those who think about work terminology from those focused on commerce. Purple, predictably, is the streak-ender - that phonetic alcoholic beverage trick won't reveal itself without serious lateral thinking.
The real trap lies in words like "LINE" and "TRADE," which could easily fit into commerce-related categories rather than vocations. "CITE" and "REFERENCE" also create a strong academic connection that might distract from the broader attribution theme.
The puzzle cleverly uses multiple meanings to create plausible but incorrect groupings.
Reset and Repeat
Tomorrow's puzzle drops at midnight in your timezone. Until then, reflect on today's performance: did you spot the airline classes immediately, or did the vocational terms trip you up?
The beauty lies not in perfection but in training your brain to spot these hidden patterns.
For now, puzzle #930 is solved. See you at midnight for round #931.
