The Friday edition of NYT Connections arrives with puzzle #957, serving up a grid that rewards measurement knowledge and wordplay prowess. Today's challenge particularly favors those who can navigate imperial units and spot sneaky compound word constructions.
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 #957:
STONE | TEMPLE | PILOT | LIP
STREET | CHEEK | FOOT | TRAFFIC
EYE | ACRE | FLOOD | METER
GARAGE | LIME | BUSHEL | VALET
A seemingly random collection that somehow connects into four perfect categories.
Strategic Hints (No Spoilers Yet)
Yellow Category Nudge: Think about what you see when you look in the mirror.
Green Category Clue: Where do you leave your car when you're not driving it?
Blue Category Hint: Measurements that predate the metric system.
Purple Category Teaser: These words complete common two-word phrases that end with the same word.
The Full Solutions
Last chance to solve independently: answers below
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Yellow (Facial Features): CHEEK, EYE, LIP, TEMPLE
These four words all refer to parts of the human face. "Temple" is the trickiest here - while it can mean a place of worship, in this context it refers to the flat area on either side of the forehead.
Green (Kinds of Parking): GARAGE, METER, STREET, VALET
Each word describes a different type of parking arrangement. "Valet" might initially seem like a person, but here it refers to valet parking services.
Blue (Imperial Units): ACRE, BUSHEL, FOOT, STONE
These are all units of measurement in the imperial system. "Stone" is the most obscure for American solvers - it's a British unit equal to 14 pounds.
Purple (Words Before "LIGHT"): FLOOD, LIME, PILOT, TRAFFIC
Each word forms a common compound word when followed by "light." The connection is purely linguistic - floodlight, limelight, pilot light, and traffic light.
The Verdict
Puzzle #957 registers as moderate difficulty with a sting in the tail. Yellow falls quickly for anyone who recognizes facial anatomy, while green requires thinking about urban infrastructure.
Blue separates the measurement buffs from the metric system loyalists. Purple, predictably, is the streak-ender - that compound word trick won't reveal itself without serious lateral thinking.
The real trap lies in words like "temple" and "stone" that have multiple meanings. "Temple" could easily mislead solvers toward religious buildings, while "stone" might suggest geological formations rather than measurement units.
Reset and Repeat
Tomorrow's puzzle drops at midnight in your timezone. Until then, reflect on today's performance: did imperial units trip you up, or did you spot the facial features immediately?
The beauty lies not in perfection but in training your brain to spot these hidden patterns.
For now, puzzle #957 is solved. See you at midnight for round #958.
