Spoilers ahead: NYT Connections game #1024 for March 31, 2026, groups the words into SHORTAGE, PARTS OF A PIRATE SHIP, KINDS OF BRAS, and phrases starting with baby animals. The answer key below is corroborated by dated guides from TechRadar, Forbes, and WePC; it was not independently verified against the NYT archive.
NYT Connections answers for March 31, 2026
The reported grid contains WIRELESS, PLANK, KIT KAT, CRUNCH, PUSH-UP, SPORTS, CHICK FLICK, CANNON, CALF RAISE, CROW’S NEST, PINCH, PLUNGE, JOLLY ROGER, ABSENCE, FRY COOK, and DEFICIT.
| Color | Category | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | SHORTAGE | ABSENCE, CRUNCH, DEFICIT, PINCH |
| Green | PARTS OF A PIRATE SHIP | CANNON, CROW’S NEST, JOLLY ROGER, PLANK |
| Blue | KINDS OF BRAS | PLUNGE, PUSH-UP, SPORTS, WIRELESS |
| Purple | STARTING WITH BABY ANIMALS | CALF RAISE, CHICK FLICK, FRY COOK, KIT KAT |
The three dated answer guides agree on these groupings. Color labels identify the guide’s category order, not a measured difficulty rating.
Why the four groups fit
Yellow: SHORTAGE
ABSENCE, CRUNCH, DEFICIT, and PINCH can each describe a lack or insufficiency. “Feeling the pinch” can mean financial strain; a credit crunch refers to reduced availability of loans.
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Green: PARTS OF A PIRATE SHIP
A CANNON and PLANK are familiar ship-related terms, while a CROW’S NEST is an elevated lookout on a mast and the JOLLY ROGER is the skull-and-crossbones flag associated with pirates.
Blue: KINDS OF BRAS
PLUNGE, PUSH-UP, SPORTS, and WIRELESS are bra styles or constructions. A wireless bra has no underwire.
Rank #2
Purple: STARTING WITH BABY ANIMALS
Each phrase begins with a word for a young animal: a calf in CALF RAISE, a chick in CHICK FLICK, a fry in FRY COOK, and a kit in KIT KAT. The trick is to notice the first word of each familiar phrase.
The tempting exercise-word decoy
PUSH-UP, PLANK, CRUNCH, and CALF RAISE can all look like exercise terms, making them a plausible false group. But they belong to four different intended categories: bra styles, pirate-ship terms, shortage synonyms, and baby-animal-starting phrases.
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Connections asks players to sort sixteen terms into four related groups of four. TechRadar’s dated guide says a new puzzle appears at midnight in each time zone and describes play through NYT Games on desktop or mobile as free; those details are reported context, not a guarantee of current access conditions.
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