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Need a nudge before the reveal? Connections #995, for Monday, March 2, 2026, has four groups hidden among 16 words. Start with the spoiler-safe hints below; the full categories and answers appear after the spoiler break.
Today’s Connections words
The board contains these 16 words:
SPRING, RANK, RUBBER, BALL, VAULT, SAFE, FUNKY, FOUL, STATION, STRIKE, POPCORN, BEAM, HORSE, STANDING, RINGS, POSITION.
Hints for Connections #995
Read only as far as you need. The clues move from oblique to direct, and the starter words reveal one member of each group.
- Oblique: Think Olga Korbut and the equipment used in acrobatic routines.
- Category clue: One group concerns your social level or rating in society.
- More direct: Think “Yer out!” or an umpire’s ruling.
- More direct: Think “Bawk-bawk!” or a farmyard animal.
One starter word for each category: BEAM, POSITION, BALL, FUNKY.
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Stop here if you want to solve the board yourself.
- Yellow — GYMNASTICS APPARATUS: BEAM, HORSE, RINGS, VAULT.
- Green — STATUS: POSITION, RANK, STANDING, STATION.
- Blue — BASEBALL CALLS: BALL, FOUL, SAFE, STRIKE.
- Purple — ___ CHICKEN: FUNKY, POPCORN, RUBBER, SPRING.
The purple group completes familiar phrases with “chicken.”
How difficult was today’s puzzle?
PC Guide reports that The New York Times rated this puzzle 1.3 out of 5 for difficulty; the original rating page was not directly verified. That figure is an attributed report, not an independently confirmed NYT rating.
Rank #2
How Connections works
Connections asks players to sort 16 words into four groups of four based on what links them. TechRadar’s guide says players can make up to four mistakes before the game ends, and links to the NYT Games play destination.
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