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Spoiler warning: The Saturday, December 7, 2024, NYT Connections puzzle is game #545. Read the hint levels first if you want to solve it yourself; the complete groups and 16-word grid appear below.
Connections #545 grid
The puzzle contains these 16 words:
CHUM, FELLOW, EQUATE, AFFILIATE, LURE, ASSOCIATE, WINGS, STORM, BOW, RELATE, LEGS, SUN, LIBERTY, BAIT, FLY, HORN.
Your goal is to divide them into four groups of four words that share a connection.
Hints, from subtle to revealing
- Yellow: Think about ways to connect ideas or concepts.
- Green: Look for methods used to catch a particular animal.
- Blue: One group is associated with a professional sports league.
- Purple: The remaining words follow a common four-letter word meaning “lengthy.”
For the least spoiler-heavy approach, try the first clue, remove that group, and then reassess the remaining words. Proper names and compound-word patterns become easier to see after the obvious semantic match is gone.
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NYT Connections #545 answers
| Color | Category | Words | Why they fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow | THINK OF TOGETHER | AFFILIATE, ASSOCIATE, EQUATE, RELATE | Each verb can describe connecting ideas or treating things as linked. |
| Green | WAYS TO ATTRACT FISH | BAIT, CHUM, FLY, LURE | All are fishing baits or lures used to attract fish. |
| Blue | W.N.B.A. TEAMS | LIBERTY, STORM, SUN, WINGS | These are team names in the Women’s National Basketball Association. |
| Purple | LONG _____ | BOW, FELLOW, HORN, LEGS | Adding LONG creates longbow, Longfellow, longhorn and longlegs. |
How to solve this puzzle
1. Take the clearest synonym group first
AFFILIATE, ASSOCIATE, EQUATE and RELATE all point toward the idea of thinking of things together. Their shared meaning is more direct than the other possible interpretations, making this the best starting set.
2. Separate the fishing words from ordinary vocabulary
BAIT, CHUM, FLY and LURE can all describe ways to attract fish. The words are deliberately broad: “fly” can be a verb or an insect, while “lure” and “bait” also work in non-fishing contexts.
3. Treat the capitalized-looking names as a sports category
After the first two groups are removed, LIBERTY, STORM, SUN and WINGS stand out as proper-name possibilities. They are all WNBA franchises: New York Liberty, Seattle Storm, Connecticut Sun and Dallas Wings.
4. Use the fill-in-the-blank construction for the last four
BOW, FELLOW, HORN and LEGS each follow LONG. The results are longbow, Longfellow, longhorn and longlegs. This final group relies on recognizing compounds and a proper name rather than on a single shared definition.
Why the puzzle can be tricky
- Multiple meanings: BAIT, FLY and LURE may initially look like general action words or objects instead of fishing terms.
- Names hidden in plain sight: LIBERTY, STORM, SUN and WINGS are ordinary nouns until you recognize them as WNBA team names.
- Uneven word formation: LONG combines with BOW and HORN as familiar compounds, with FELLOW as Longfellow, and with LEGS as longlegs.
The reliable approach is to lock in the strongest semantic match, remove those four words, and then test the leftovers for proper names or a shared word that completes each phrase.
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