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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Spoilers follow. NYT Connections #385 was the archived puzzle published Sunday, June 30, 2024. Its four groups were OLD SAYING, GRILL FUEL SOURCES, TREES, and HOT TUB COMPONENTS.
Spoilers follow. NYT Connections puzzle #385 was published on Sunday, June 30, 2024. The goal was to sort the 16 words into four groups of four. If you want to try the archived puzzle first, stop after the word list and work upward through the hints before opening the answers.
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The 16 words in Connections #385
Here is the complete grid without the categories:
- ADAGE
- ASH
- CHARCOAL
- CHERRY
- CHESTNUT
- EBONY
- ELECTRIC
- FILTER
- GAS
- GUM
- HEATER
- JET
- MAXIM
- PUMP
- SAW
- WOOD
Hints for June 30’s Connections puzzle
These clues progress from the yellow group to the purple group, so the later hints are more revealing.
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Yellow hint
A saying from the past.
Green hint
Fire up the barbecue. Think about the different ways a grill can be heated.
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Blue hint
Woody types. Look for names of trees, not just words associated with lumber.
Purple hint
No bubbles without these. These items help a hot tub circulate, heat, filter, and move its water.
Connections #385 answers
Yellow: OLD SAYING
ADAGE, CHESTNUT, MAXIM, SAW
An adage and a maxim are familiar sayings or principles. A saw can also mean a proverb or traditional saying. Chestnut is the trickier entry: besides being a tree or its nut, it can describe an old, familiar saying, joke, or story.
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CHARCOAL, ELECTRIC, GAS, WOOD
These are ways a grill may be powered or heated. Charcoal, gas, and wood are conventional fuel choices, while electric grills use electricity as their energy source. That technical distinction explains why “grill fuel sources” is a more useful description than treating every entry as a literal fuel.
Blue: TREES
ASH, CHERRY, EBONY, GUM
All four are types of trees. Ash and cherry are common tree names, ebony is both a tree and a notably dark wood, and gum refers to several kinds of trees, including eucalyptus-related varieties. The group is designed to compete with other possible wood-related connections in the grid.
Purple: HOT TUB COMPONENTS
FILTER, HEATER, JET, PUMP
These are common hot-tub components. The filter helps remove debris, the heater warms the water, jets provide the water flow used for massage, and the pump circulates water through the system. This was the puzzle’s most specialized category and could be easier to spot after the other three groups were removed.
Why this puzzle was difficult
The grid contained several overlapping ideas involving wood, heat, and materials. CHESTNUT strongly suggests a tree, and EBONY is especially familiar as a type of wood. That makes it tempting to build a tree or lumber-related group around the wrong words.
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The key distinction is that CHESTNUT belongs with the old-saying words, not with the tree names. Once ADAGE, MAXIM, and SAW are recognized, CHESTNUT becomes a vocabulary clue rather than a botanical one. The remaining specialized set—FILTER, HEATER, JET, and PUMP—then identifies the hot-tub category.
How NYT Connections works
Connections presents 16 words and asks you to find four groups of four words that share a theme. The groups are color-coded by intended difficulty: yellow is generally the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple as the most challenging.
Each puzzle has one intended solution, but the words are deliberately chosen so that some can appear to fit more than one category. A practical approach is to look for a group with four precise matches rather than committing to a theme that only works broadly. If a proposed group contains a word that fits better elsewhere, set it aside and test another combination.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What were the answers to Connections #385?
NYT Connections #385 was published on Sunday, June 30, 2024. Its groups were OLD SAYING, GRILL FUEL SOURCES, TREES, and HOT TUB COMPONENTS.
Why was CHESTNUT in the old-saying group?
CHESTNUT can mean an old, familiar saying or joke, as well as a tree or nut. In this puzzle, it belonged with ADAGE, MAXIM, and SAW.
What was the purple group in Connections #385?
The purple group was FILTER, HEATER, JET, and PUMP. These are common components of a hot tub.
The Bottom Line
Connections #385, from June 30, 2024, hinged on separating CHESTNUT from the tree words and recognizing the specialized HOT TUB COMPONENTS group. The answers were OLD SAYING, GRILL FUEL SOURCES, TREES, and HOT TUB COMPONENTS.
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