The Saturday edition of NYT Connections arrives with puzzle #993, serving up a grid that rewards linguistic dexterity and lateral thinking. Today's challenge particularly favors those who can spot homophones and recognize astronomical terms with a twist.
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 #993:
START | KNEEL | TAILOR | SALESMAN
COMETH | PILOT | EARNEST | ITCH
DESIRE | ROADIE | RUSTLE | SUNG
NOVAK | THIRST | CRUISE DIRECTOR | URGE
A seemingly random collection that somehow connects into four perfect categories.
Strategic Hints (No Spoilers Yet)
Yellow Category Nudge: These four words all describe intense wants or needs that drive human behavior.
Green Category Clue: Think about professions where the office is never in the same place twice.
Blue Category Hint: Listen carefully, these words sound like common first names when spoken aloud.
Purple Category Teaser: Look to the stars, then add one letter to each astronomical term.
The Full Solutions
Last chance to solve independently: answers below
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Yellow (Craving): DESIRE, ITCH, THIRST, URGE
These four words represent different forms of intense wanting or needing.
Each describes a powerful internal drive, whether physical (itch, thirst) or psychological (desire, urge), that demands satisfaction.
Green (Jobs That Involve Traveling): CRUISE DIRECTOR, PILOT, ROADIE, SALESMAN
This category collects professions defined by constant movement.
From the skies (pilot) to the seas (cruise director) to the highways (roadie, traveling salesman), these workers earn their living on the go.
Blue (Name Homophones): EARNEST, KNEEL, RUSTLE, TAILOR
The connection here is auditory, each word sounds like a common first name when spoken.
Earnest (Ernest), kneel (Neil), rustle (Russell), and tailor (Taylor) all function as homophones for familiar names.
Purple (Astronomical Terms Plus A Letter): COMETH, NOVAK, START, SUNG
This tricky category requires astronomical knowledge plus letter manipulation.
Each word is an astronomical term (comet, nova, star, sun) with an additional letter H, K, T, or G appended to create a valid English word.
The Verdict
Puzzle #993 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 astronomical letter trick won't reveal itself without serious lateral thinking.
The real trap lies in words like "START" and "SUNG" which could easily fit with other celestial terms, while "CRUISE DIRECTOR" might initially seem to belong with other entertainment roles rather than traveling professions.
"EARNEST" could be mistaken for an adjective describing sincerity rather than a homophone for Ernest.
Reset and Repeat
Tomorrow's puzzle drops at midnight in your timezone.
Until then, reflect on today's performance: did you spot the homophones immediately, or did the astronomical letter addition catch you off guard?
The beauty lies not in perfection but in training your brain to spot these hidden patterns.
For now, puzzle #993 is solved.
See you at midnight for round #994.
