If you’re looking for the answer to the Connections question for Tuesday, August 13, 2024, read on – I’ll give you some hints, tips and strategies, and finally the solutions for all four categories. Along the way, I’ll explain the meaning of the more difficult words and we’ll learn how it all fits together. Warning, below you will find spoilers for NYT Connections #429 from August 13th! Read on if you want some clues (and then the answer) about today’s Connections game.
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Below I’ll give you some indirect clues about today’s Connections answers. And further down the page I’ll reveal the topics and answers. Scroll slowly and take only the clues you need!
Photo credit: Connections/NYT
Clues to the topics in today’s Connections Puzzle
Here are some spoiler-free clues about the groups in today’s Connections:
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Yellow category – Words you might see in a book after a line of dialogue.
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Green category – It is not on their birth certificate, but is still a valid designation for them.
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Blue category – Hard to ignore.
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Purple Category – A fill-in-the-blank question with a word that refers to a building where people live.
WARNING: Spoilers for today’s connections puzzle follow!
We’ll reveal some of the answers in a moment. Scroll slowly if you don’t want to give away everything. (The full solution is a little further down.)
A note on the tricky parts
SOBRIQUET is a word that means “nickname”.
WHEEL and SPOKE do not fit together.
VOICED and PRONUNCIATED do not go together.
What categories are there in today’s connections?
DOUBLE CAUTION: THE SOLUTION CAN BE FOUND BELOW
Want to know the answers to today’s Connections puzzle? I’ll reveal them all below.
What are the yellow words in today’s connections?
The yellow grouping is considered the easiest. The topic for today’s yellow group is STATED and the words are: SAID, SPOKE, TOLD, VOICED.
What do the green words in today’s connections mean?
The green grouping is probably the second easiest. The topic for today’s green category is NICKNAME and the words are: NAME, NAME, NAME.
What do the blue words mean in today’s connections?
The blue grouping is the second most difficult. The theme for today’s blue category is OBVIOUS and the words are: CLEAR, MARKED, PRONOUNCED, CONSPICUOUS.
What are the purple words in today’s connections?
The purple group is considered the most difficult. The topic of today’s purple category is ___ HOUSE (THAT AREN’T HOUSES) and the words are: PORTER, POWER, ROUGH, WHEEL.
How I solved today’s connections
To better understand the puzzle, I think I need to google two words: PORTER and SOBRIQUET.
PORTER is a person who carries luggage, for example in a hotel or airport. It is also a type of dark beer.
A SOBRIQUET is a nickname.
OK, now that we’ve got that out of the way, it looks like SAID, SPOKE, TOLD, and VOICE probably all fall into the same category because they’re past tense words used to say something out loud. 🟨
“PRONOUNCED” would theoretically have fit into the last category, but I think here it probably means “noticeable,” as in “a PRONOUNCED lump in his arm.” I say that because I also see STRIKING, CLEAR, and MARKED, all of which have the same meaning. 🟦
The SOBRIKET fits NAME, and I think it could also fit NAME and HANDLE (i.e. an online handle or username). 🟩
That leaves PORTER, ROUGH, POWER and WHEEL. Hmm, things that spin, the first thing that comes to mind is the word “journey”. A PORTER could carry your luggage when you’re traveling, you can do a ROUGH trip or a POWER trip. WHEEL is a bit of an outlier though.
I’m not sure what the connection is! Let’s see. 🟪 “___ HOUSE” (THOSE ARE NOT HOUSES).” Hmm, yeah, I would never have guessed that. A PORTERhouse is a “large steak”, apparently. “ROUGH house” means to play in a rough manner; a POWERhouse is someone or something that is very impressive; and a WHEELhouse refers to a person’s area of expertise.
Connections Puzzle #429 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟪🟪🟪
How to play Connections
I have a full How to play Connectionsbut here is a refresher of the rules:
First, find the Connections game on either the New York Times website or their Games app (formerly the Crossword app). You’ll see a game board with 16 tiles, each with a word or phrase. Your job is to select a group of four tiles that have something in common. Often these are the same type of thing (for example: RAIN, SNOW MUD, HAIL and SNOW are all types of wet weather), but sometimes there are word games (for example: BUCKET, GUEST, TOP TEN and WISH are all types of Lists: bucket list, guest list, etc.).
Select four items and click the submit button. If you guessed correctly, the category and color will be revealed. (Yellow is easiest, followed by green, then blue, then purple.) If your guess was wrong, you’ll have the option to try again.
You win if you identify all four groups correctly, but if you make four mistakes before you finish, the game is over and the answers are revealed.
How to gain connections
The most important thing to know about winning Connections is that the groupings are tricky. Expect overlapping groups. For example, one puzzle appeared to contain six breakfast foods: BACON, EGG, PANCAKE, OMELET, WAFFLE, and CEREAL. But BACON turned out to be part of a group of painters along with CLOSE, MUNCH, and WHISTLER, and EGG was in a group of things that come by the dozen (along with JUROR, ROSE, and MONTH). So don’t click submit until you’ve confirmed that your group of four includes only these four things.
If you get stuck, you can also look at the words that NO Connection to the others. If the only thing that comes to mind when you think of WHISTLER is the painting nicknamed “Whistler’s Mother,” you may be on the right track. Once I had that problem solved, I ended up Googling whether there was a painter named Close, because Close didn’t fit any of the obvious themes either.
Of course, another way to win if you get stuck is to read a few helpful hints – that’s why we share these clues every day. Check back tomorrow to read the next puzzle!
