The Sunday edition of NYT Connections arrives with puzzle #931, delivering a mechanical-themed challenge that rewards horology enthusiasts and lateral thinkers. Today's grid particularly favors those who can spot both literal and linguistic connections across seemingly disparate terms.
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 #931:
DUSKY | SPRING | STILL | PERRIER
BOX | STATIONARY | GEAR | ENVELOPE
NOODLE | RATCHET | TUBE | STATIC
PAWL | CONSTANT | SOXER | MAILER
A seemingly random collection that somehow connects into four perfect categories, spanning mechanical engineering, shipping logistics, and canine wordplay.
Strategic Hints (No Spoilers Yet)
Yellow Category Nudge: Think about how you'd send something through the mail system.
Green Category Clue: These words all describe something that doesn't change position or state.
Blue Category Hint: Horology enthusiasts will recognize these as components inside a mechanical timepiece.
Purple Category Teaser: Canine names with a single letter substitution create these words.
The Full Solutions
Last chance to solve independently: answers below
Yellow (Containers for Shipping): BOX, ENVELOPE, MAILER, TUBE
These four terms represent different types of shipping containers used for transporting goods. Box and envelope are obvious mail carriers, while mailer specifically refers to a type of packaging designed for postal shipping.
Tube completes the set as a cylindrical container often used for shipping posters, documents, or rolled items. The category is straightforward once you think about physical objects that hold contents during transit.
Green (Unmoving): CONSTANT, STATIC, STATIONARY, STILL
This category collects synonyms for things that don't move or change. Constant describes something unchanging over time, static refers to something motionless or fixed, stationary means not moving from a position, and still indicates absence of motion.
The trap here is that "still" could also refer to a photographic still or a distillation apparatus, but in this context it clearly aligns with the immobility theme.
Blue (Mechanical Watch Parts): GEAR, PAWL, RATCHET, SPRING
Horology buffs will recognize these as essential components of mechanical timepieces. Gears transmit motion through a watch's movement, pawls are lever-like components that engage with ratchet teeth to prevent backward motion, ratchets are toothed wheels that allow motion in only one direction, and springs (particularly the mainspring) store and release energy to power the mechanism.
This category separates those with mechanical knowledge from casual solvers.
Purple (Dogs with First Letter Changed): DUSKY, NOODLE, PERRIER, SOXER
This is the puzzle's cleverest linguistic trick. Each word is a dog breed name with its first letter changed: Dusky comes from Husky (H→D), Noodle from Poodle (P→N), Perrier from Terrier (T→P), and Soxer from Boxer (B→S).
The category requires recognizing both the canine references and the letter substitution pattern, making it the day's most challenging connection.
The Verdict
Puzzle #931 registers as moderate difficulty with a sting in the tail. Yellow falls quickly for anyone who recognizes shipping containers, while green requires thinking about synonyms for immobility.
Blue separates the mechanical enthusiasts from the casual observers. Purple, predictably, is the streak-ender - that canine letter substitution trick won't reveal itself without serious lateral thinking.
The real trap lies in words like "spring" and "still" that could fit multiple categories. "Spring" could be a season, a water source, or a mechanical component, while "still" could be photographic or alcoholic.
"Perrier" might mislead as a brand name rather than a modified dog breed. These red herrings force solvers to consider multiple possible connections before committing.
Reset and Repeat
Tomorrow's puzzle drops at midnight in your timezone. Until then, reflect on today's performance: did you spot the mechanical watch components immediately, or did the shipping containers trip you up?
The beauty lies not in perfection but in training your brain to spot these hidden patterns.
For now, puzzle #931 is solved. See you at midnight for round #932.
