The Monday edition of NYT Connections arrives with puzzle #960, serving up a grid that rewards Hollywood knowledge and linguistic dexterity. Today's challenge particularly favors film buffs and those who can spot clever wordplay patterns hiding in plain sight.
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 #960:
FOSTER | COW | BADGE | MILK
RABBI | RATTLE | FIELD | MOOS
SQUEEZE | CLOSE | RUFFLE | FLEECE
WEAVER | DRAIN | GOA | BUFFALO
A seemingly random collection that somehow connects into four perfect categories.
Strategic Hints (No Spoilers Yet)
Yellow Category Nudge: These words all describe ways to extract value or resources from something.
Green Category Clue: Think about verbs that describe intimidating or unsettling someone.
Blue Category Hint: These are surnames of acclaimed actresses who have won major awards.
Purple Category Teaser: Remove the last letter from each word to reveal a type of animal.
The Full Solutions
Last chance to solve independently: answers below
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Yellow (Exploit): DRAIN, FLEECE, MILK, SQUEEZE
These four words all describe methods of extracting or exploiting resources.
Drain removes liquid, fleece refers to swindling someone (like shearing a sheep), milk means to extract maximum benefit, and squeeze implies pressing for every last drop of value.
Green (Daunt): BUFFALO, COW, RATTLE, RUFFLE
Each verb means to intimidate or unsettle someone.
Buffalo means to confuse or intimidate, cow means to subdue through fear, rattle means to unnerve, and ruffle means to disturb someone's composure.
Blue (Iconic Actresses): CLOSE, FIELD, FOSTER, WEAVER
These are the surnames of Oscar-winning actresses.
Glenn Close, Sally Field, Jodie Foster, and Sigourney Weaver have collectively earned numerous Academy Awards and nominations throughout their careers.
Purple (Mammals Minus Last Letter): BADGE, GOA, MOOS, RABBI
Remove the final letter from each word to reveal animal names.
BADG(e) becomes BADGER, GO(A) becomes GOAT, MOO(S) becomes MOOSE, and RABB(I) becomes RABBIT - a clever wordplay category that requires lateral thinking.
The Verdict
Puzzle #960 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 "FOSTER" and "FIELD" that could easily be mistaken for verbs rather than actress surnames, while "BUFFALO" and "COW" tempt players toward animal categories instead of intimidation verbs.
"MILK" and "FLEECE" also create a strong animal product connection that misdirects from their true "exploit" meaning.
Reset and Repeat
Tomorrow's puzzle drops at midnight in your timezone.
Until then, reflect on today's performance: did you spot the actress surnames immediately, or did the animal wordplay in purple catch you off guard?
The beauty lies not in perfection but in training your brain to spot these hidden patterns.
For now, puzzle #960 is solved.
See you at midnight for round #961.
