The Monday edition of NYT Connections arrives with puzzle #932, serving up a grid that rewards biological knowledge and Olympic event recognition. Today's challenge particularly favors science enthusiasts and sports fans who can spot sneaky homophone connections.
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 #932:
GENE | OPAL | SWIMMING | COURSE
TIDE | TISSUE | INFINITY | ATHLETICS
OUTIE | DIRECTION | EQUESTRIAN | CELL
PROTEIN | MINNIE | TREND | TRIATHLON
A seemingly random collection that somehow connects into four perfect categories.
Strategic Hints (No Spoilers Yet)
Yellow Category Nudge: Think about natural movements and patterns that follow a predictable path.
Green Category Clue: These are the fundamental building blocks of living organisms.
Blue Category Hint: These are all events you'd see at the Summer Games.
Purple Category Teaser: Listen carefully - these words sound like car brands when you say them out loud.
The Full Solutions
Last chance to solve independently: answers below
Yellow (Tendency): COURSE, DIRECTION, TIDE, TREND
These four words all describe natural movements or patterns that follow a predictable path. "Course" refers to the path something takes, "direction" indicates orientation, "tide" follows lunar cycles, and "trend" describes statistical or cultural movement.
The connection is subtle but logical once you recognize they're all about following a particular flow or pattern.
Green (Biological Structures): CELL, GENE, PROTEIN, TISSUE
This is a straightforward biology category for anyone with basic science knowledge. These represent fundamental biological building blocks: cells are the basic unit of life, genes contain hereditary information, proteins perform cellular functions, and tissues are groups of cells working together.
The trap here is that "cell" could also refer to a prison cell or phone cell, but in this biological context, it fits perfectly.
Blue (Summer Olympic Events): ATHLETICS, EQUESTRIAN, SWIMMING, TRIATHLON
All four are official Summer Olympic sports. "Athletics" is the umbrella term for track and field events, "equestrian" covers horse-related competitions, "swimming" is self-explanatory, and "triathlon" combines swimming, cycling, and running.
The potential misdirection comes from "athletics" being a broad term that could include many sports, but in Olympic context, it's specific.
Purple (Car Brand Homophones): INFINITY, MINNIE, OPAL, OUTIE
This is the trickiest category requiring lateral thinking. Each word sounds like a car brand when pronounced: "Infinity" matches the luxury brand Infiniti, "Minnie" sounds like Mini (as in Mini Cooper), "Opal" matches the Australian car brand Holden Opal, and "Outie" sounds like Audi.
This category punishes solvers who don't think phonetically and demonstrates why purple categories are typically the hardest.
The Verdict
Puzzle #932 registers as moderate difficulty with a sting in the tail. Yellow falls quickly for anyone who recognizes synonym clusters, while green requires thinking about your evening routine.
Blue separates the civics buffs from the casual observers. Purple, predictably, is the streak-ender, that nautical homophone trick won't reveal itself without serious lateral thinking.
The real trap lies in words like "cell" and "athletics" that could fit multiple categories. "Cell" could have been paired with prison-related terms, while "athletics" might have connected with other sports terms.
The homophone category is particularly devious - "outie" as a belly button term seems completely unrelated to cars until you hear it pronounced like "Audi."
Reset and Repeat
Tomorrow's puzzle drops at midnight in your timezone. Until then, reflect on today's performance: did you spot the biological structures immediately, or did the Olympic events trip you up?
The beauty lies not in perfection but in training your brain to spot these hidden patterns.
For now, puzzle #932 is solved. See you at midnight for round #933.
