Hints for Connections #927
Start with the easiest group: words for common wrappers or coverings like bacon, bread, cheese, and paper. These everyday items often wrap food or gifts, forming a straightforward yellow category.
Next, identify eating-related terms: bite, champ, chew, and munch. This green group captures synonyms for consuming food energetically, perfect for foodies spotting the theme quickly.
For the blue category, look to sea creatures: char, pollock, sole, and tang. These are all types of fish, testing knowledge of aquatic life beyond the obvious.
The purple trickiest group ties to sounds or names: hump, rapt, singe, and whistler. Think whistler as a fish or painter, but the link is subtler—proper names or actions evoking attention.
Full Answers & Strategies
Spoiler alert: The exact groups for #927 are wrappers (BACON, BREAD, CHEESE, PAPER), eat heartily (BITE, CHAMP, CHEW, MUNCH), fish varieties (CHAR, POLLOCK, SOLE, TANG), and whistler's kin (HUMP, RAPT, SINGE, WHISTLER). Use the 'overflow trick' from recent Mashable tips by testing extra words to reveal patterns.
To play optimally, submit four words at once and note color changes. Yellow confirms easy links first, saving mistakes for purple. Past puzzles like #926 on Dec 23 built similar food and action themes, showing NYT's pattern of escalating trivia.
How to Play & Tips
Select words on the 4x4 grid, submit groups, and watch colors reveal progress. Four errors end the game, so prioritize obvious links. New players should explore NYT's free Mini Crossword for similar daily fun.
Edited by Wyna Liu, Connections draws from dictionary depths. Check hints pages for non-spoiler aid, and revisit past answers for practice. Global players access it anytime via the app.