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Need help with NYT Connections #968 for Tuesday, February 3, 2026? Start with the hints below, then use the answer table if you are ready for spoilers. This puzzle mixes cutting terms, lodging verbs, golf equipment and phrases completed by “memory.”
Spoiler warning: The complete groups and answers appear after the progressive hints.
Hints for Connections #968
Use these clues in order, stopping as soon as you have enough to finish the grid.
- Yellow: Chop it up—a task for a knife or scissors.
- Green: Places to rest; these words offer somewhere to rest one’s weary head.
- Blue: Used to play 18 holes; it is in the bag for Jack and Arnold.
- Purple: Begin with a word to remember; each tile completes a phrase beginning with “memory.”
Connections #968 answers
| Category | Four tiles | Connection | Color |
|---|---|---|---|
| CUT INTO PIECES | CUBE, DICE, HASH, MINCE | Food-preparation or cutting terms describing making something into smaller pieces | Yellow |
| PROVIDE WITH A PLACE TO STAY | BOARD, HOUSE, LODGE, QUARTER | Verbs meaning to provide accommodation | Green |
| KINDS OF GOLF CLUBS | IRON, PUTTER, WEDGE, WOOD | Types of clubs used in golf | Blue |
| MEMORY ____ | CARD, FOAM, HOLE, LANE | Each word follows “memory” to form a familiar phrase | Purple |
How to solve the grid
1. Find the cutting group first
HASH, MINCE, CUBE and DICE all describe reducing food or another material to pieces. The words are not identical in technique: to mince is to chop finely, while to cube or dice means to cut into small blocks. Together they satisfy the yellow category, “CUT INTO PIECES.”
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2. Spot the golf equipment
IRON, PUTTER, WEDGE and WOOD are straightforward golf-club types. “Wood” can look like an ordinary material rather than sports equipment, but the presence of the other three club names makes the sporting sense clear.
3. Read the lodging words as verbs
BOARD, HOUSE, LODGE and QUARTER can each mean to accommodate someone. This is the green group, “PROVIDE WITH A PLACE TO STAY.” The words are deliberately presented in forms that can also suggest a physical object or location.
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4. Use phrase completion for purple
The remaining words pair with “memory”: memory card, memory foam, memory hole and memory lane. This is a phrase-pattern connection rather than a shared object or action, which is why it is the purple group.
Red herrings to watch for
- BOARD, DICE and CARD: All can evoke board games or game components, but they belong to three different categories here.
- QUARTER and DICE: Both can suggest tossing or throwing something, an appealing but incorrect relationship.
- WOOD: It can be read as a material until the golf-club category provides the intended meaning.
A practical approach is to lock in the most concrete semantic set first, then test whether each remaining word has the same grammatical role. Once the golf terms are removed, the lodging verbs become easier to see; the four “memory” phrases are the final confirmation.
Rank #3
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What Connections #968 is testing
| Group | Connection style | Why it may be harder |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | Literal cutting meanings | Several words describe related techniques rather than one exact synonym. |
| Green | Accommodation verbs | Board, house, lodge and quarter are more familiar as nouns or places. |
| Blue | Golf equipment | Wood is easy to interpret as a material instead of a club. |
| Purple | Phrase completion | The shared word is supplied by the solver, not printed on the tiles. |
How the daily game works
Connections presents 16 words that must be arranged into four groups of four. The game generally assigns yellow to the easiest category, followed by green, blue and purple, although the intended difficulty can vary. You can play the daily puzzle free on the New York Times website or in the Games app. Because incorrect guesses are limited, submit a group only after checking that every tile fits the same connection and that no stronger alternative group is being broken apart.
Quick Recap
Best Value
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Rank #4
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