NYT Connections #563 was the Wednesday, December 25, 2024 puzzle. The grid mixed astronomy, archery, female-animal terms and “Saturday Night Live” surnames, with a Christmas-themed reindeer trap designed to mislead solvers. Use the graduated hints below before opening the complete solution.
The 16 words in Connections #563
The puzzle presented these words:
QUEEN, STAR, CUPID, STRONG, RUDOLPH, SAGITTARIUS, NANNY, COMET, VIXEN, MOON, ROBIN HOOD, SHANNON, HAWKEYE, FEY, JENNY and PLANET.
Hints, from broad to specific
Yellow group
Mostly out of this world: think astronomy and things seen in the sky.
Green group
Think of people or fictional characters associated with a bow and arrow. Katniss, Merida and Rambo point toward the idea.
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Blue group
“Lady beasts” is the clue. Look for words that can name female animals.
Purple group
Think of familiar faces from late-night NBC: the cast behind “Live from New York…”
Spoiler warning: the complete answers
The solutions are below. Stop here if you still want to solve the grid yourself.
| Color | Category | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | Celestial objects | COMET, MOON, PLANET, STAR |
| Green | Archers | CUPID, HAWKEYE, ROBIN HOOD, SAGITTARIUS |
| Blue | Female animals | JENNY, NANNY, QUEEN, VIXEN |
| Purple | “S.N.L.” cast members | FEY, RUDOLPH, SHANNON, STRONG |
Why the Christmas red herring fails
CUPID, RUDOLPH, COMET and VIXEN look like a plausible holiday set because Rudolph and Vixen are reindeer names and Cupid and Comet are commonly associated with Santa’s team. Connections requires the intended category to account for each word in the strongest overall arrangement, however. CUPID belongs with archers, COMET with celestial objects, VIXEN with female animals and RUDOLPH with “S.N.L.” performers.
The less obvious word meanings
Female animals
- Jenny: a female donkey.
- Nanny: a female goat.
- Queen: a female cat or bee, among other uses.
- Vixen: a female fox.
“S.N.L.” surnames
The purple words are surnames: Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph, Molly Shannon and Cecily Strong.
Why the archer group works
Sagittarius is traditionally represented by an archer, while Robin Hood and Hawkeye are famous archers and Cupid carries a bow. That familiar sense matters more than Sagittarius’s separate association with astrology.
How to approach this puzzle’s ambiguity
Several entries can point in more than one direction. STAR may describe a celebrity, QUEEN can suggest royalty or a bee, and SAGITTARIUS can look like an astronomy answer before its archer meaning becomes useful. The reliable move is to compare competing sets rather than locking in the first four-word association.
- Mark the strongest literal category, such as the obvious sky objects.
- Test every tempting seasonal association against the remaining words.
- Check whether an unusual entry has a precise dictionary sense, such as Jenny or nanny for a female animal.
- Expand surnames into full names when a media category is hinted.
How Connections works
Each daily board has 16 words that must be divided into four groups of four. You can make up to four incorrect guesses before the game ends. When a submitted group is close, the game can report that you are one word away. The daily puzzle is released at midnight; archive availability and subscription requirements can change, so check the current New York Times Games policy for access details.
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