Today's NYT Connections Hints and Answer for May 11 (#335)

April 2024 · 4 minute read

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Connections is a game from the New York Times that challenges you to find the association between words. It sounds easy, but it isn't—Connections categories can be almost anything, and they're usually quite specific. If you need a hand getting the answers, we've got you covered.

What Is Connections?

Connections is a game from the New York Times. The objective is simple: sort 16 words into groups of 4. Each group of words will be connected by some common idea or theme. That common element could be anything. We have seen everything from games that rely on the number of letters in the words to categories that require you to spot an extra letter at the end of the word. Sometimes they're references to economics, other times they reference fairy tales. There is no telling what sort of association there will be between words.

Once you're confident you understand the connection, select 4 words, then hit "Submit." You have only four attempts in total, so don't be too guess-happy.

Hints for Today's Connections Groups

Here are a few hints for the 335th Connections game to get you started:

What Are Today's Connections Groups?

If you still need help, the actual group names are:

Today's NYT Connections Answers

One With Top Billing (Yellow):

Headline, Lead, Principal, Star

Vampire Vulnerabilities (Green):

Cross, Garlic, Silver, Sun

Satirical Publications, Familiarly (Blue):

Cracked, Lampoon, Mad, Onion

Club ____ (Purple):

Med, Music, Sandwich, Soda

How Did We Solve This Connections Game?

May 11th was pretty average.

Garlic was the first word that caught my eye, and I was on a culinary kick for a while. Eventually I spotted silver, and it clicked: we're talking about vampires. With vampires in mind, cross, garlic, silver, and sun came together pretty qucikly to finish out the Green group, "Vampire Vulnerabilities."

Next, I happened to put star and lead together, and it got me thinking about the big celebrity in a show or movie. That lead me to headline and principal, which rounded out Yellow, "One With Top Billing."

By pure luck, I spotted sandwich and soda and the word "club" popped into my head. Once I realized I was looking for a group that was "Club ____," it was easy to pick out music and med. As is usual for that sort of group name, it was in the Purple group.

That left cracked, lampoon, mad, and onion. Once everything else was removed, the connection finally dawned on me. We're talking about "Satirical Publications, Familiarly," which was Blue.

How Do You Guess Connections Groups?

There is no quick, reliable way to approach Connections like there is with Wordle, since Connections isn't algorithmic. However, there are a few things to keep in mind that can help.

  • Look for similar parts of speech. Are some words verbs and others nouns? Are some adjectives? Try mentally grouping them based on those categories and see if any other patterns jump out at you.
  • Are the words synonyms? Sometimes categories will just be synonyms for a phrase, or very close to synonyms. Don't rely too closely on this, though. Occasionally, Connections will deliberately throw in words that are sometimes synonyms to mislead you.
  • Try saying the words. Sometimes, saying the words helps. One puzzle we saw included the words go, rate, faster, clip, pace, speed, move, commute, and hurry—all of which are obviously related to the idea of motion. However, when you say them, it becomes a little more obvious that only four (go, move, hurry, faster) are things you'd actually say to prompt someone to get moving.
  • Expect the red herring. Connections usually has words that could be plausibly, yet incorrectly, grouped together. Take the words Bud, Corona, and Light, as an example. You might instinctively see those three words together and assume they're lumped together in a category related to beer—but they weren't.
  • Look for distinct words. If a word on your board doesn't have multiple meanings or can really only be used in one context, try using that word as the basis for a category.
  • Shuffle the board. Sometimes, moving words around will help you look at them in new ways.

    • If you didn't solve this one, don't feel too bad—there's always tomorrow! And those words may align with a topic you're interested in, giving you a leg up on the competition.

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