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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →NYT Connections game #565 was published on Friday, December 27, 2024. The spoiler-conscious route is: start with the four clues, inspect the 16-word grid, then reveal the categories and answers below.
Hints for Connections #565
Try to solve each group from these clues before checking the full answers:
- Morning meal staples
- On/Off
- Beep beep
- And the award goes to…
The Connections #565 grid
Here are the 16 words from the December 27 puzzle:
TAPS · UNICORN · IRONS · BACON · PRESSES · PHOENIX · CAR · BUGLER · BRIDGES · AFRICA · TOAST · WASHINGTON · GRITS · HITS · HASH · CLICKS
Answers for December 27, 2024
| Color | Category | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | BREAKFAST SIDES | BACON, GRITS, HASH, TOAST |
| Green | PUSHES, AS A BUTTON | CLICKS, HITS, PRESSES, TAPS |
| Blue | THEY HAVE A HORN | AFRICA, BUGLER, CAR, UNICORN |
| Purple | OSCAR-WINNING ACTORS | BRIDGES, IRONS, PHOENIX, WASHINGTON |
Why this puzzle was tricky
BACON is a breakfast food, not an actor surname
BACON can suggest Kevin Bacon alongside PHOENIX, IRONS and WASHINGTON. In this grid, however, BACON belongs with the breakfast sides, leaving the other three names for the Oscar-winning actors category.
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“Horn” has four different meanings
The blue group combines unrelated kinds of horns: Africa refers to the Horn of Africa, a BUGLER plays a horn, a CAR can have a horn, and a UNICORN has one. That deliberately broad connection is harder to spot than a group built around one literal object.
The button verbs are all short and familiar
CLICKS, HITS, PRESSES and TAPS can each describe pressing a button, matching the “On/Off” clue.
How Connections works
The game presents 16 words and asks you to divide them into four groups of four. Categories are color-coded from yellow, the easiest, through purple, the trickiest, and each puzzle has one intended solution even though several words may appear to fit more than one category. A new puzzle releases at midnight in the player’s timezone.
Connections is available through The New York Times Games website and apps. The archive extends back to June 12, 2023 for All Access and Games subscribers, although access depends on the reader’s account.
A practical way to solve similar grids
- Mark any obvious four-word set, but do not submit it until you have checked every remaining word for a stronger connection.
- Test whether a word is being used in a different sense, such as a place name, a verb or a surname.
- Look for the most specific category available: the four actor surnames are stronger together than a loose celebrity connection.
- Save the purple group for last when its relationship is abstract or dependent on wordplay.
TechRadar’s writer described this particular puzzle as moderate and reported making one mistake; that is an individual solving experience, not a measured difficulty statistic for all players.
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