The Saturday edition of NYT Connections arrives with puzzle #972, serving up a grid that rewards grammatical precision and mathematical literacy. Today's challenge particularly favors editors and arithmetic enthusiasts who can spot the subtle difference between symbols and their literal meanings.
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 #972:
COLON | l | FOUR | PLUS
FIVE | QUOTATION MARK | MINUS | t
i | EQUALS | THREE | ELLIPSIS
DIVIDED BY | PERIOD | x | TWO
A seemingly random collection that somehow connects into four perfect categories.
Strategic Hints (No Spoilers Yet)
Yellow Category Nudge: Think about what you might count on a standard gaming cube.
Green Category Clue: These symbols belong on a calculator or in a math textbook.
Blue Category Hint: Look for the marks that help structure written language.
Purple Category Teaser: These might appear small, but they're fundamental building blocks.
The Full Solutions
Last chance to solve independently: answers below
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Yellow (Pips on a Die): FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO
These numbers represent the pips (dots) found on the faces of a standard six-sided die. The category cleverly excludes "one" and "six" to maintain the puzzle's challenge.
Green (Symbols Used in Arithmetic): DIVIDED BY, EQUALS, MINUS, PLUS
These four symbols form the core operators of basic mathematics. Each represents a fundamental arithmetic operation taught in elementary school.
Blue (Punctuation Marks): COLON, ELLIPSIS, PERIOD, QUOTATION MARK
These are all standard punctuation marks used in written English. The category includes both common and less frequently used marks that structure sentences and indicate pauses.
Purple (Lowercase Letters): I, L, T, X
These are all lowercase letters from the English alphabet. The puzzle presents them in various formats (some capitalized, some lowercase) to create misdirection.
The Verdict
Puzzle #972 registers as moderate difficulty with a clever typographical twist. Yellow falls quickly for anyone who recognizes dice patterns, while green requires basic mathematical literacy.
Blue separates the grammar enthusiasts from casual writers. Purple, predictably, is the streak-ender, with its lowercase letter trick hiding in plain sight among punctuation and symbols.
The real trap lies in words like "COLON" and "PERIOD" which could belong to both punctuation and time-related categories, while "T" and "X" appear as both letters and mathematical variables. The puzzle's brilliance comes from forcing players to distinguish between symbols as punctuation versus symbols as mathematical operators.
Reset and Repeat
Tomorrow's puzzle drops at midnight in your timezone. Until then, reflect on today's performance: did you spot the lowercase letters hiding among the punctuation and symbols?
The beauty lies not in perfection but in training your brain to spot these hidden patterns.
For now, puzzle #972 is solved. See you at midnight for round #973.
