If you are looking for the answer to Connections for Sunday, June 30, 2024, keep reading: I will share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solutions to all four categories. Along the way, I will explain the meaning of the trickiest words and we will learn how it all comes together. Warning, there are spoilers below for NYT Connections #385 for June 30! Read on if you want some clues (and then the answer) about today’s Connections game.
If you want an easy way to return to our Connections tips every day, Bookmark this page. You can also find our past clues there, in case you wanted to know what you missed in a previous puzzle.
Below, I’ll give you some oblique hints about today’s Connections answers. And further down the page, I’ll reveal the themes and answers. Scroll slowly and pick up just the hints you need!
Credits: Connections/NYT
Hints for today’s Connections puzzle themes
Here are some spoiler-free hints about today’s Connections groupings:
-
Yellow Category – Words describing a short word of folk wisdom.
-
Green Category – Types of energy used by an outdoor cooking appliance.
-
Blue Category – Examples of plant types that develop new rings each year.
-
Purple Category – A small outdoor pool of warm, relaxing water needs these elements to function properly.
WARNING: Spoilers for today’s Connections puzzle!
We are about to give some of the answers. Scroll slowly if you don’t want it all spoiled. (The full solution is a little further down.)
A warning about the delicate parts
There are a bunch of words on the board today that could be magazine titles, like MAXIM and EBONY, but there are no magazine categories today (he shouted, angry and exhausted).
SAW does not refer to an object used to cut down a tree; it is another word for “proverb.”
Burning COAL will produce ASH, but these now fall into different categories.
What are the categories of Today’s Connections?
DOUBLE ATTENTION: THE SOLUTION IS BELOW
Ready to discover the answers to today’s Connections puzzle? I give them all below.
What are the yellow words in today’s Connections?
The yellow group is considered the simplest. Today’s yellow group theme is OLD SAYING and the words are: ADAGE, CHESTNUT, MAXIM, SAW.
What are the green words in today’s Connections?
The green group is supposed to be the second simplest. Today’s green category theme is GRILL FUEL SOURCES and the words are: CHARCOAL, ELECTRIC, GAS, WOOD.
What are the blue words in today’s Connections?
The blue group is the second most difficult. Today’s blue category theme is TREES and the words are: ASH, CHERRY, EBONY, GUM.
What are the purple words in today’s Connections?
The purple group is considered the most difficult. Today’s purple category theme is HOT TUB COMPONENTS and the words are: FILTER, HEATER, JET, PUMP.
How I Solved Today’s Connections
I see a lot of industrial words on the board today. MAXIM and EBONY side by side remind me of magazine titles, but I don’t see any other obvious ones. Oh, maybe ADAGE stands for “Ad Age.” Isn’t PUMP also a magazine? Hmm, no, it failed. I really thought I had it.
Let’s try something simpler: GAS, WOOD, ELECTRIC, and COAL are all types of fuels or energy sources. 🟩
I think CHESTNUT, EBONY, CHERRY, and ASH could all be wood types, maybe. “A far.” Oops, I just realized I selected GUM instead of EBONY. Still “at one!” Just one mistake left.
I think JET is also a magazine, but I’m not ready to speculate otherwise.
Oh, maybe the FILTER, HEATER, PUMP and JET all go together as parts of a pool or spa. 🟪 Alright, finally some progress.
Wow, those last eight words are difficult and I only have one chance to pronounce them correctly.
MAXIM and ADAGE could also be synonyms for “truth”, “motto” or “wisdom”. I wonder if this goes with CHESTNUT, as in “that old chestnut”. Hmm, a quick Google tells me that SAW can also be a word referring to a general truth. 🟨Was it the yellow category? Damn, that was hard for me.
That leaves EBONY, CHERRY, ASH, and GUM, all of which must be tree types. 🟦I was a little bruised and beaten, but I made it. This magazine story was a false lead.
Connections Puzzle #385 🟦🟨🟪🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟨🟦🟦 🟦🟨🟦🟦 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟦🟦🟦🟦
How to play Connections
I have plenty of them guide to playing Connectionsbut here is a reminder of the rules:
First, search for the Connections game either on the New York Times website or in their Games app (formerly the Crossword app). You will see a game board made up of 16 tiles, each containing 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 (e.g. RAIN, SLIP, HAIL and SNOW are all types of rainy weather), but sometimes puns are involved (e.g. BUCKET, GUEST, TOP TEN and WISH are all types). of lists(to-do list, guest list, etc.).
Select four items and press the Submit button. If you guess correctly, the category and color will be revealed. (Yellow is easiest, followed by green, then blue, then purple.) If your guess is incorrect, you’ll have the opportunity to try again.
You win when you correctly identify all four groups. But if you make four mistakes before you finish, the game ends and the answers are revealed.
How to gain connections
The most important thing to know about earning Connections is that groupings are designed to be tricky. Expect to see overlapping groups. For example, one puzzle appeared to include six breakfast foods: BACON, EGG, PANCAKE, OMELET, WAFFLE, and CEREAL. But BACON turned out to be part of a group of painters with CLOSE, MUNCH, and WHISTLER, and EGG was part of a group of things that come in dozens (with JUROR, ROSE, and MONTH). So don’t hit “submit” until you’ve confirmed that your group of four contains only these four things.
If you get stuck, another strategy is to look at words that seem to have No connection with others. If all that comes to mind when you see WHISTLER is the painting nicknamed “Whistler’s Mother,” you may be on to something. When I solved that one, I ended up Googling if there was a painter named Close, because Close didn’t fit any of the obvious themes either.
Another way to win when you’re stuck is, of course, to read some helpful tips. That’s why we share these tips every day. Come back tomorrow for the next puzzle!