The Thursday edition of NYT Connections arrives with puzzle #956, serving up a grid that rewards culinary knowledge and sharp linguistic precision. Today's challenge particularly favors dessert enthusiasts and those who can spot sneaky magazine wordplay.
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 #956:
TIMER | FUMBLE | SPINY | SHARP
TURNOVER | ELLEN | CRISP | MISS
USE | CLEAR | COBBLER | TRIP
CRUMBLE | FLUFF | DISTINCT | STRUDEL
A seemingly random collection that somehow connects into four perfect categories, blending culinary delights with linguistic precision and magazine wordplay.
Strategic Hints (No Spoilers Yet)
Yellow Category Nudge: Think about image quality and visual clarity.
Green Category Clue: These are all sweet treats that often feature fruit.
Blue Category Hint: Consider mistakes or errors in performance.
Purple Category Teaser: Each word becomes a magazine title when you add a single letter.
The Full Solutions
Last chance to solve independently: answers below
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Yellow (Well-defined, as an image): CLEAR, CRISP, DISTINCT, SHARP
These four words all describe visual clarity and sharpness in imagery or perception.
Each term can refer to how well-defined an image appears, whether in photography, video, or mental visualization.
Green (Fruit desserts): COBBLER, CRUMBLE, STRUDEL, TURNOVER
This category collects classic fruit-based baked desserts that vary in crust and preparation style.
From the streusel-topped crumble to the layered strudel, each represents a different approach to encasing fruit in pastry.
Blue (Bungle): FLUFF, FUMBLE, MISS, TRIP
All four words describe making mistakes or errors, particularly in performance contexts.
Whether in sports (fumble, miss), comedy (fluff), or everyday mishaps (trip), each represents a failure to execute properly.
Purple (Magazines plus a letter): ELLEN, SPINY, TIMER, USE
The trickiest category requires adding a single letter to each word to form magazine titles.
ELLEN becomes ELLE (N), SPINY becomes SPIN (Y), TIMER becomes TIME (R), and USE becomes US (E) - all well-known publications.
The Verdict
Puzzle #956 registers as moderate difficulty with a clever linguistic twist.
Yellow falls quickly for anyone who recognizes visual clarity synonyms, while green requires thinking about your dessert menu.
Blue separates the sports fans from the casual observers, with "fluff" potentially misleading as a texture term.
Purple, predictably, is the streak-ender - that magazine letter trick won't reveal itself without serious lateral thinking.
The real trap lies in words like "CRISP" and "SHARP" that could belong to multiple categories - "CRISP" could fit with dessert terms, while "SHARP" might connect with cutting or precision tools.
"TURNOVER" also presents dual meanings, potentially confusing dessert seekers with its business or sports connotations.
Reset and Repeat
Tomorrow's puzzle drops at midnight in your timezone.
Until then, reflect on today's performance: did the dessert category come easily, or did the magazine wordplay stump you?
The beauty lies not in perfection but in training your brain to spot these hidden patterns.
For now, puzzle #956 is solved.
See you at midnight for round #957.
