The Tuesday edition of NYT Connections arrives with puzzle #982, serving up a grid that rewards culinary knowledge and linguistic dexterity. Today's challenge particularly favors food enthusiasts and those who can spot subtle wordplay 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 #982:
PLUM | LEAF | FLASH | BUSTLE
THUMB | OYSTER | FLOPPY | ZIP
SKIM | SOY | DART | BOMBAY
SPEED | FLIP | HOISIN | MISSUS
A seemingly random collection that somehow connects into four perfect categories.
Strategic Hints (No Spoilers Yet)
Yellow Category Nudge: Think about moving quickly or with great velocity.
Green Category Clue: These are all essential components in Asian cooking, particularly Chinese cuisine.
Blue Category Hint: Consider actions you might perform with a book or magazine.
Purple Category Teaser: Each word begins with a term that means something failed or didn't work out.
The Full Solutions
Last chance to solve independently: answers below
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Yellow (Zoom): DART, FLASH, SPEED, ZIP
All four words describe rapid movement or high velocity.
Dart suggests quick, sudden movement, flash implies instantaneous speed, speed is the direct measurement of velocity, and zip conveys brisk, energetic motion.
Green (Sauces in Chinese Cuisine): HOISIN, OYSTER, PLUM, SOY
These represent four distinct sauces fundamental to Chinese cooking.
Hoisin is the sweet, thick sauce used in Peking duck, oyster sauce adds umami depth to stir-fries, plum sauce provides sweet-tart balance, and soy sauce is the foundational seasoning.
Blue (Riffle (Through)): FLIP, LEAF, SKIM, THUMB
Each verb describes a way to quickly browse through pages.
Flip pages rapidly, leaf through a book, skim for key information, and thumb through a magazine all capture the casual, quick examination of printed material.
Purple (Starting With Synonyms for "Dud"): BOMBAY, BUSTLE, FLOPPY, MISSUS
The clever wordplay here involves each word beginning with a term meaning failure.
Bombay starts with "bomb" (a theatrical failure), bustle with "bust" (a failed venture), floppy with "flop" (a commercial failure), and missus with "miss" (a failed attempt).
The Verdict
Puzzle #982 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 culinary knowledge.
Blue separates the avid readers from the casual observers.
Purple, predictably, is the streak-ender, that wordplay trick won't reveal itself without serious lateral thinking.
The real trap lies in words like "plum" and "oyster" that could easily fit into fruit or seafood categories, misleading players away from the sauce connection.
Similarly, "thumb" might initially suggest body parts rather than page-turning actions.
Reset and Repeat
Tomorrow's puzzle drops at midnight in your timezone.
Until then, reflect on today's performance: did you spot the sauce connection immediately, or did the "dud" wordplay catch you off guard?
The beauty lies not in perfection but in training your brain to spot these hidden patterns.
For now, puzzle #982 is solved.
See you at midnight for round #983.
