NYT Connections today — my hints and answers for Wednesday, December 11 (game #549)
Nice console games 
Good morning! Let’s play Connections, the NYT’s clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need clues.
What should you do once you’ve finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I’ve also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc’s Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.
NYT Connections today (game #549) – today’s words
Today’s NYT Connections words are…
- HAIRSPRAY
- ROSEBUD
- POKÉMON
- PRIMATE
- XANADU
- JAZZERCISE
- KETCHUM
- SNOWGLOBE
- PARALYMPICS
- PAYPAL
- PARADISE
- WIKIPEDIA
- SEVENTH HEAVEN
- SALAD
- DRESSING
- MAGIC 8 BALL
- SHANGRI-LA
NYT Connections today (game #549) – hint #1 – group hints
What are some clues for today’s NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: Dreamland
- GREEN: … rattle and roll
- BLUE: Two become one
- PURPLE: They’ll be there for you
Need more clues?
We’re firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today’s NYT Connections puzzles…
NYT Connections today (game #549) – hint #2 – group answers
What are the answers for today’s NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: UTOPIA
- GREEN: THINGS YOU SHAKE
- BLUE: PROPER NOUN PORTMANTEAUX
- PURPLE: ENDING IN SYNONYMS FOR “FRIEND”
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Connections today (game #549) – the answers
The answers to today’s Connections, game #549, are…
- YELLOW: UTOPIA PARADISE, SEVENTH HEAVEN, SHANGRI-LA, XANADU
- GREEN: THINGS YOU SHAKE HAIRSPRAY, MAGIC 8 BALL, SALAD DRESSING, SNOWGLOBE
- BLUE: PROPER NOUN PORTMANTEAUX JAZZERCISE, PARALYMPICS, POKÉMON, WIKIPEDIA
- PURPLE: ENDING IN SYNONYMS FOR “FRIEND” KETCHUM, PAYPAL, PRIMATE, ROSEBUD
- My rating: Hard
- My score: Fail
I had no idea what KETCHUM was. My first thought was that it was a portmanteau of Ketchup and erm Chum? This would link it to PARALYMPICS and JAZZERCISE
After striking out I discovered that KETCHUM was plenty of things – a grenade-like weapon, a POKÉMON character, a city in Idaho, a brand of cattle tags, the surname of the doctor who conducted experiments on soldiers with LSD in the 1960s… you could write a book about KETCHUM. This dalliance led me to ignore the far more obvious PROPER NOUN PORTMANTEAUX words WIKIPEDIA and POKÉMON. And that, my Connections KETCHUMs was the end of me.
The only group I landed today was the easy yellow UTOPIA group. You could say I’m a dreamer, but today was my Connections nightmare.
Yesterday’s NYT Connections answers (Tuesday, 10 December, game #548)
- YELLOW: GIVE A TITLE TO CALL, DUB, LABEL, NAME
- GREEN: PARTS OF A FLIGHT CRUISE, TAKEOFF, TAXI, TOUCHDOWN
- BLUE: FEEL AROUND (FOR) FISH, FUMBLE, ROOT, RUMMAGE
- PURPLE: COUNTRIES MINUS FIRST LETTER INLAND, OLIVIA, RAN, WANDA
What is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.
On the plus side, you don’t technically need to solve the final one, as you’ll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What’s more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.
It’s a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.
It’s playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
