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Connections presents 16 words that must be sorted into four groups of four. You can make up to four mistakes, and the puzzle is available through the NYT Games site on desktop and mobile.
Hints for Connections #494
Try these clues before looking at the answers. They are listed in the puzzle’s color order, from yellow to purple.
- Yellow: A bit of vegetation.
- Green: “I’ll take this.”
- Blue: Shall we watch “Megalopoli” tonight?
- Purple: The process by which justice is administered.
The 16-word grid
| Words in Connections #494 | Words in Connections #494 | Words in Connections #494 | Words in Connections #494 |
|---|---|---|---|
| PARK | CAR | HARVARD | YARD |
| ADDRESS | GREEN | JAW | LEMON |
| NATURAL | CRIMINAL | FIELD | SWINGER |
| HANDLE | GOODFELLA | ANSWER | LAWN |
Answers for NYT Connections #494
Yellow: GRASSY AREA
GREEN, LAWN, PARK, YARD
Each word can describe a grassy or open area. A green, lawn, park and yard are all familiar places where grass may be found.
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Green: DEAL WITH
ADDRESS, ANSWER, FIELD, HANDLE
These words can all mean to deal with an issue, question or task: you address a problem, answer a question, field a request or handle a situation.
Blue: MOVIES WITH “S” REMOVED
CAR, GOODFELLA, JAW, SWINGER
This is the puzzle’s main wordplay trick. Add the letter S to the end of each grid entry and it becomes a film title:
Rank #2
| Grid entry | Add “S” | Film title |
|---|---|---|
| CAR | + S | Scar |
| GOODFELLA | + S | Goodfellas |
| JAW | + S | Jaws |
| SWINGER | + S | Swingers |
Purple: ___ LAW
CRIMINAL, HARVARD, LEMON, NATURAL
Each entry forms a recognized phrase when paired with “law”: criminal law, Harvard Law, lemon law and natural law.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to approach this puzzle
Start with direct semantic grouping
The yellow set is the most literal: GREEN, LAWN, PARK and YARD all point to grassy or open spaces. Removing those words reduces the number of tempting overlaps in the remaining grid.
Look for verbs that take a problem as an object
ADDRESS, ANSWER, FIELD and HANDLE work as verbs for dealing with something. Their grammatical pattern is more useful than their surface meanings, since “field” and “answer” can initially look unrelated to the others.
Test transformations when a set feels uneven
CAR, GOODFELLA, JAW and SWINGER look like mismatched nouns until the missing-letter pattern appears. Appending S produces Scar, Goodfellas, Jaws and Swingers, all movie titles.
Use compound-phrase recognition for the hardest group
The final four become clear when you place LAW after each word. “Harvard Law” is an institution or field of study, while criminal law, lemon law and natural law are established legal terms.
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