The Thursday edition of NYT Connections arrives with puzzle #970, serving up a grid that rewards cultural literacy and Hollywood knowledge. Today's challenge particularly favors American history buffs and those who can spot sneaky director 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 #970:
BRUCE | AMERICAN FLAG | BUMP | SPIKE
JEANS | BUTT | BALD EAGLE | RAM
BASEBALL | ANG | OCEAN | APPLE PIE
CHRISTOPHER | LAPIS LAZULI | KNOCK | SKY
A seemingly random collection that somehow connects into four perfect categories.
Strategic Hints (No Spoilers Yet)
Yellow Category Nudge: Think about what represents America beyond just politics.
Green Category Clue: These are all ways things can come into contact, sometimes forcefully.
Blue Category Hint: Look for things that share a common color in their natural or manufactured state.
Purple Category Teaser: Hollywood's last names become first names in this director-focused category.
The Full Solutions
Last chance to solve independently: answers below
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Yellow (Cultural symbols of the U.S.): AMERICAN FLAG, APPLE PIE, BALD EAGLE, BASEBALL
These four items represent iconic American symbols that transcend politics.
The bald eagle serves as the national bird, apple pie embodies American culinary tradition, baseball stands as America's pastime, and the American flag needs no introduction.
Green (Collide with): BUMP, BUTT, KNOCK, RAM
All four words describe forceful contact or collision.
"Bump" suggests gentle contact, "butt" implies head-to-head confrontation, "knock" involves striking something, and "ram" describes deliberate, forceful impact.
Blue (Blue things): JEANS, LAPIS LAZULI, OCEAN, SKY
This category connects items that are famously or naturally blue.
Blue jeans are a wardrobe staple, lapis lazuli is a deep blue semi-precious stone, the ocean appears blue from a distance, and the sky's blue hue is a fundamental atmospheric phenomenon.
Purple (Lees of Hollywood): ANG, BRUCE, CHRISTOPHER, SPIKE
These are all first names of famous directors whose last names are "Lee."
Ang Lee directed "Brokeback Mountain," Bruce Lee was primarily known as a martial artist but also directed films, Christopher Lee was an actor (not a director, making this a tricky inclusion), and Spike Lee is the acclaimed director of "Do the Right Thing."
The Verdict
Puzzle #970 registers as moderate difficulty with a sting in the tail.
Yellow falls quickly for anyone who recognizes American cultural symbols, while green requires thinking about physical contact verbs.
Blue separates the color-conscious from the casual observers.
Purple, predictably, is the streak-ender, that Hollywood director connection won't reveal itself without serious film industry knowledge.
The real trap lies in "Christopher Lee," who was an actor rather than a director, potentially misleading players who might expect all four to be directors.
Additionally, "RAM" could initially suggest computer memory rather than physical collision, creating another layer of misdirection.
Reset and Repeat
Tomorrow's puzzle drops at midnight in your timezone.
Until then, reflect on today's performance: did you spot the American symbols immediately, or did the director category trip you up?
The beauty lies not in perfection but in training your brain to spot these hidden patterns.
For now, puzzle #970 is solved.
See you at midnight for round #971.
