NYT Connections hints and answers for Wednesday, March 26 (game #654)

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Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Tuesday, March 25 (game #653).

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 Connections hints.

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 #654) - today's words

NYT Connections hints for game 654 on a purple background

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

  • PINOT
  • CARD
  • SHOT
  • GLASS
  • ROSE
  • QUARTZ
  • DRIVE
  • THRUST
  • CLOUD
  • BOUNCE
  • PLATE
  • DISK
  • NAPKIN
  • FLEW
  • GALLEON
  • FORK

NYT Connections today (game #654) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

  • YELLOW: Formal dining
  • GREEN: Greater
  • BLUE: Backed up
  • PURPLE: Measurements with added element 

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 #654) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

  • YELLOW: PARTS OF A TABLE SETTING 
  • GREEN: INCREASED, WITH "UP" 
  • BLUE: KINDS OF DIGITAL STORAGE 
  • PURPLE: UNITS OF VOLUME PLUS LETTER 

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #654) - the answers

NYT Connections answers for game 654 on a purple background

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #654, are…

  • YELLOW: PARTS OF A TABLE SETTING FORK, GLASS, NAPKIN, PLATE
  • GREEN: INCREASED, WITH "UP" FLEW, ROSE, SHOT, THRUST
  • BLUE: KINDS OF DIGITAL STORAGE CARD, CLOUD, DISK, DRIVE
  • PURPLE: UNITS OF VOLUME PLUS LETTER BOUNCE, GALLEON, PINOT, QUARTZ

  • My rating: Moderate
  • My score: 1 mistake

Initially I thought there was a silent letter category today and put QUARTZ, which on reflection makes no sense, with FLEW, PINOT, ROSE.

Then I saw KINDS OF DIGITAL STORAGE.

CLOUD storage once seemed incredibly hard to explain – my photos are kept where? In a cloud? Now it seems strange that we once stored things on a CARD.

Next, I got INCREASED WITH “UP” and was utterly blind to UNITS OF VOLUME PLUS LETTER – a classic Connections group that rewards people who can spot patterns in words and will confound people like myself who can look at the word BOUNCE for a lifetime without considering that it could also be ounce with an added B.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.


Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Tuesday, 25 March, game #653)

  • YELLOW: BLACK-AND-WHITE THINGS CROSSWORD, OREO, PANDA, TUXEDO
  • GREEN: ANAGRAMS ABEL, ABLE, BALE, BELA
  • BLUE: U.S. PRESIDENTIAL NICKNAMES ABE, CAL, DICK, TEDDY
  • PURPLE: CLEAR AS ___ A BELL, CRYSTAL, DAY, MUD

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.