The Friday edition of NYT Connections arrives with puzzle #950, serving up a grid that rewards music knowledge, parenting experience, and fashion vocabulary. Today's challenge particularly favors those who can spot both literal and figurative 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 #950:
PANAMA | ALABAMA | BATH | BAHAMA
SANTANA | BANANARAMA | SLAM | PAJAMAS
PIANO | PORKPIE | BRUSHING | KANSAS
DERBY | STORY | CANYON | FEDORA
A seemingly random collection that somehow connects into four perfect categories.
Strategic Hints (No Spoilers Yet)
Yellow Category Nudge: Think about headwear - specifically, the types you might find in a well-stocked hat shop.
Green Category Clue: These are the steps parents guide their children through before lights out.
Blue Category Hint: Focus on musical groups where the vowel "A" appears exclusively throughout their names.
Purple Category Teaser: Each of these words completes the phrase "Grand ___" in common usage.
The Full Solutions
Last chance to solve independently: answers below
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Yellow (Kinds of Hats): DERBY, FEDORA, PANAMA, PORKPIE
This category collects four distinct types of headwear. Derby refers to the rounded, stiff hat also known as a bowler, while fedora describes the classic soft felt hat with a creased crown.
Panama denotes the lightweight straw hat traditionally from Ecuador, and porkpie identifies the flat-topped hat with a narrow brim.
Green (Components of a Kid's Bedtime Routine): BATH, BRUSHING, PAJAMAS, STORY
These four words outline the classic sequence of a child's pre-sleep ritual. Bath comes first for cleanliness, followed by brushing teeth for dental hygiene.
Pajamas represent getting dressed for bed, and story caps off the routine with a calming narrative before sleep.
Blue (Musical Acts With "A" as the Only Vowel): ALABAMA, BANANARAMA, KANSAS, SANTANA
This clever category groups bands whose names contain only the vowel "A" and no other vowels. Alabama is the country music supergroup, Bananarama the British pop trio, Kansas the progressive rock band, and Santana the Latin rock group.
The pattern requires noticing the exclusive use of "A" across all four names - a subtle but consistent linguistic constraint.
Purple (Grand ___): BAHAMA, CANYON, PIANO, SLAM
Each word completes the phrase "Grand ___" in common English usage. Grand Bahama refers to one of the northernmost islands of the Bahamas archipelago.
Grand Canyon describes the massive gorge in Arizona, grand piano denotes the large horizontal piano, and grand slam represents the achievement of winning all major tournaments in a sport.
The Verdict
Puzzle #950 registers as moderate difficulty with clever linguistic constraints. Yellow falls quickly for anyone with fashion vocabulary, while green requires thinking about domestic routines.
Blue separates music enthusiasts from casual listeners with its vowel-exclusive pattern. Purple, predictably, is the streak-ender - the "Grand ___" construction won't reveal itself without serious lateral thinking.
The real trap lies in words like PANAMA and BAHAMA, which could mislead solvers toward geographical or musical groupings. Similarly, PIANO might initially seem musical rather than part of a "Grand ___" phrase, while SLAM could distract with sports or poetry associations.
Reset and Repeat
Tomorrow's puzzle drops at midnight in your timezone. Until then, reflect on today's performance: did the musical vowel pattern click immediately, or did the bedtime routine category feel more intuitive?
The beauty lies not in perfection but in training your brain to spot these hidden patterns.
For now, puzzle #950 is solved. See you at midnight for round #951.
