Find the links between the words to win today’s game of Connections.
getty
Each day’s game of NYT Connections goes live at midnight local time. Before today’s NYT Connections hints, here’s what you missed on Tuesday:
ForbesNYT Connections Hints Today: Monday, March 30 Clues And Answers (#1,023)By Kris Holt
Hey there, Connectors! I hope your week is off to a good start.
I’m excited for springtime weather to finally take hold here, but goodness gracious me, it’s wild that we’re already a quarter of the way through 2026. I’m still sometimes putting down 2025 when I have to write the year.
Time moves fast, y’all. Don’t wait around for good things to happen. Make them so.
Before we start, I want to highlight the rad community we have on Discord, where we chat about Connections, the rest of the NYT games and all kinds of other stuff. It’s a lovely group of folks. You’re more than welcome to join us.
Also, my weekend editions of this column are available over on my newsletter, Pastimes. If you enjoy the intros and recommendations in my Connections columns, I publish longer pieces along similar lines on Pastimes as well. I think you’d dig them.
Today’s NYT Connections hints and answers for Tuesday, March 31 are coming right up. Let’s get rolling!
NYT Connections – How To Play
Connections is a free New York Times daily word game that you can play on the NYT’s website or Games app. If you have an NYT All Access or Games subscription, you can access the Connections archive, which includes every previous game.
Connections presents you with a grid of 16 words (sometimes phrases, symbols or numbers). The aim is to arrange them into four groups of four. You don’t know how they hit together or what the category for each group is: that’s what you have to figure out.
There’s only one correct solution and there are often red herrings. You can guess incorrectly three times. A fourth wrong guess, and it’s game over.
Each group is color coded. The yellow group is usually the easiest to deduce, followed by blue, green and purple. Often, the yellow and green groups have synonyms, the blues have cultural references and the purples have some kind of wordplay involved. But this is not a hard and fast rule. Be ready for curveballs – part of the fun of Connections is in how the NYT shakes things up to keep you on your toes.
As with Wordle and similar games, it’s easy to share results with your friends using an emoji-based grid. The game tracks your progress too.
Many players take pride in having long win streaks or getting a reverse rainbow – correctly guessing the purple, blue, green and yellow groups in that order with no mistakes. That adds an extra little challenge.
NYT Connections Hints – Today’s Word List
Scroll slowly! I’ll first give you a list of today’s words, then a hint for each category. After that, I’ll reveal one word that goes into each group. Then I’ll tell you the category names, followed by the full answers.
Today’s 16 words are…
WIRELESSPLANKKIT KATCRUNCHPUSH-UPSPORTSCHICK FLICKCANNONCALF RAISECROW’S NESTPINCHPLUNGEJOLLY ROGERABSENCEFRY COOKDEFICITNYT Connections Hints
And the hints for today’s Connections groups are:
🟨 Yellow group — ain’t enough🟩 Green group — aspects of the Flying Dutchman and the Black Pearl🟦 Blue group — like midfielders in a solid soccer team, these provide reliable support up front🟪 Purple group — start ’em youngNYT Connections Hints – One Answer Per Group
Need some extra help?
Be warned: we’re starting to get into spoiler territory.
Let’s take a look at one answer for each group.
Here we go…
🟨 Yellow group — PINCH🟩 Green group — JOLLY ROGER🟦 Blue group — SPORTS🟪 Purple group — KIT KATNYT Connections Hints – Groups/Categories
Today’s Connections groups are…
🟨 Yellow group — shortage 🟩 Green group — parts of a pirate ship 🟦 Blue group — kinds of bras🟪 Purple group — starting with baby animals NYT Connections Answers
Spoiler alert! Don’t scroll any further down the page until you’re ready to find out today’s Connections answers.
This is your last chance to look away.
This is your final warning!
Today’s Connections answers are…
🟨 Yellow group — shortage (ABSENCE, CRUNCH, DEFICIT, PINCH)🟩 Green group — parts of a pirate ship (CANNON, CROW’S NEST, JOLLY ROGER, PLANK)🟦 Blue group — kinds of bras (PLUNGE, PUSH0UP, SPORTS, WIRELESS)🟪 Purple group — starting with baby animals (CALF RAISE, CHICK FLICK, FRY COOK, KIT KAT)
Yarrr, the pirate ship words be comin’ to mind first, me hearties.
After that, CALF RAISE, CHICK FLICK and KIT KAT helped me figured out the purples. It took longer than I care to admit to remember what a fry is (a baby fish) but as the only other remaining phrase, FRY COOK had to fit the bill.
PUSH-UP and SPORTS then opened the gateway for the blues. That left the yellows for a 395th win on the spin.
How did you get on today? Here’s my grid:
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟪🟪🟪🟪
🟨🟨🟨🟨
Want to know more about how everything fits together? Let’s explore today’s game in more depth in my NYT Connections Answers Explained column right here:
ForbesNYT Connections Answers Explained For Tuesday, March 31 (#1,024)By Kris Holt
That’s all there is to it for today’s Connections clues and answers. Be sure to check my blog tomorrow for hints and the solution for Wednesday’s game if you need them. (It’s April 1 tomorrow, for what it’s worth…)
P.S. “In pieces” was a recent theme hint in Strands, which made me think of “Fall to Pieces” by Velvet Revolver. Man, Scott Weiland had such a great voice:
Have a great day! Stay hydrated! Be kind to yourself and each other! Call someone you love!
Please follow my blog for more NYT Connections hints and help with other word games, and even some video game news, insights and analysis. It helps me out a lot! Sharing this column with other people who play Connections would be appreciated too. You can also read my weekend editions of this column at my newsletter, Pastimes.