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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsNYT Connections game #528, from Wednesday, November 20, 2024, groups the words around dog sounds, online broadcasting, cocktail-making verbs, and metaphorical organizational structures. Spoilers for all four answers follow.
How Connections works
Connections asks you to sort 16 words into four groups of four based on a shared link. The categories are color-coded by difficulty, but overlapping meanings and wordplay can make a plausible group a red herring. For this archived puzzle, TechRadar’s Marc McLaren rated the solve “Moderate”; that is the author’s assessment, not an official New York Times difficulty score. TechRadar’s November 20 guide records the grid and answers.
November 20, 2024 grid
The 16 words were:
- PLAY
- BAY
- STIR
- CHAIN
- TREE
- STREAM
- BARK
- RUN
- HOWL
- GARNISH
- AIR
- PYRAMID
- MUDDLE
- LADDER
- SNARL
- STRAIN
Connections #528 answers
Yellow: Sound like a dog
BARK, BAY, HOWL, SNARL
Green: Broadcast, as online media
AIR, PLAY, RUN, STREAM
Blue: Cocktail-making verbs
GARNISH, MUDDLE, STIR, STRAIN
Each word describes an action used in preparing a cocktail.
Purple: Organizational structures, metaphorically
CHAIN, LADDER, PYRAMID, TREE
These words can each describe a model for how an organization is arranged.
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Why the last two groups can be tricky
The blue words are all verbs, but their shared context is cocktail preparation: garnish, muddle, stir, and strain. The purple words are familiar shapes or objects that also serve as metaphors for organizational structures. TechRadar’s author described considering alternative groupings before settling on these categories; that account is the author’s solving experience, not an independent test.
Quick Recap
Rank #4
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