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Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →NYT Connections puzzle #558, published December 20, 2024, groups sixteen words into four categories. Start with the staged hints below and stop before the spoiler sections if you want to solve it yourself.
How to approach Connections #558
Scan the board for two or three words that might share a property, then look for a fourth. Be wary of taking every word literally: this puzzle includes a sound-alike group and a set where “bros” means business sectors, not people.
The 16 words on the board
WHALE · COCKTAIL · FINANCE · QUESTION · STATEMENT · SOLUTION · GROWN · WINE · TECH · COMMAND · COMPOUND · CRYPTO · MOWN · PHARMA · EXCLAMATION · MIXTURE
Graduated hints
- Yellow: Mixed up.
- Green: Grammatically complete.
- Blue: “Borish brothers.”
- Purple: Sounds like grumbling.
Spoiler warning: category labels
The labels below reveal the four connections, but not which words belong to each one.
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#1 Best Overall
- CONCOCTION
- TYPES OF SENTENCES
- KINDS OF BROS
- COMPLAINT HOMOPHONES
Spoilers: complete answers for December 20
The four groups below give the full solution.
- CONCOCTION: COCKTAIL, COMPOUND, MIXTURE, SOLUTION.
- TYPES OF SENTENCES: COMMAND, EXCLAMATION, QUESTION, STATEMENT.
- KINDS OF BROS: CRYPTO, FINANCE, PHARMA, TECH.
- COMPLAINT HOMOPHONES: GROWN, MOWN, WHALE, WINE.
The final set uses complaint-related sound-alikes: GROWN/groan, MOWN/moan, WHALE/wail, and WINE/whine. In the “bros” group, the words point to sectors—crypto, finance, pharma, and tech.
Quick Recap
Rank #2
Sources
- TechRadar’s December 20, 2024 guide to Connections #558, with the board, staged clues, and answers.
- Try Hard Guides’ December 20, 2024 answers, which reports the same categories and word groups.
- Five Letter Words’ 2024 Connections archive.
- Connections++ archive, which lists #558 on December 20, 2024.
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