Need the answers for the May 19 New York Times Connections puzzle? To me, Wordle is more of a vocabulary test, but Connections is more of a brainteaser. You’re given 16 words and asked to put them into four groups that are somehow connected. Sometimes they’re obvious, but the game editor knows how to trick you by using words that can fit in more than one group. And do you also play Wordle? We’ve got today’s Wordle answer and hints, too. We’ve also got some tips for Strands, a new game from the Times that’s still in beta. Playing is easy. Winning is hard. Look at the 16 words and mentally assign them to related groups of four. Click on the four words you think go together. The groups are coded by color, though you don’t know what goes where until you see the answers. The yellow group is the easiest, then green, then blue, and purple is the toughest. Look at the words carefully, and think about related terms. Sometimes the connection has to do with just a part of the word. Once, four words were grouped because each started with the name of a rock band, including “Rushmore” and “Journeyman.”
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest, yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group:
Yellow group: Affluent. Green group: Cut into pieces. Blue group: Old-fashioned. Purple group: Fruit homophones.
The theme is affluent. The answers are flush, loaded, rich and wealthy. The theme is cut into pieces. The answers are chop, cube, dice and mince. The theme is old-fashioned. The answers are square, straight, stuffy and traditional. The theme is fruit homophones. The answers are bury, current, leachy and pair. (Representing berry, currant, lychee and pear.)