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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 →These are the hints and answers for NYT Connections puzzle #428, from Monday, August 12, 2024—not a current puzzle. The word list and gentle hints come first; the complete groupings are farther down, so stop before the answer table if you want to solve it yourself.
Words in Connections #428
The puzzle’s 16 words were:
BOWIE, HEAD, FULL, BUTTER, LEAD, THRONE, MERCURY, KING, QUEEN, BUTTERFLY, JOHN, GOLD, BUTCHER, TWIN, TIN, CAN.
Several words have tempting alternate meanings: BOWIE may bring a musician to mind; KING, QUEEN, and THRONE suggest royalty; and BUTTER and BUTTERFLY can point toward food or nature.
Hints for Monday, August 12
Try these broad clues before moving on to the stronger ones:
#1 Best Overall
- Yellow: Think of entries on the periodic table.
- Green: These are sizes associated with beds.
- Blue: These are informal terms for a bathroom fixture.
- Purple: Each word can go before “knife.”
Stronger hints
- Yellow: Four chemical elements that are metals.
- Green: Four common mattress sizes.
- Blue: Four slang or informal terms for a toilet.
- Purple: The phrases include Bowie knife and butterfly knife.
Answers for Connections #428
| Color | Category | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | Metal elements | GOLD, LEAD, MERCURY, TIN |
| Green | Mattress sizes | FULL, KING, QUEEN, TWIN |
| Blue | Slang for toilet | CAN, HEAD, JOHN, THRONE |
| Purple | Kinds of knives | BOWIE, BUTCHER, BUTTER, BUTTERFLY |
Why the tricky words fit
The knife group uses compound phrases
Put “knife” after each purple entry: Bowie knife, butcher knife, butter knife, and butterfly knife. The words do not all work as knife names in precisely the same grammatical way; the shared clue is that each forms a familiar phrase with “knife.”
Some familiar meanings are decoys
MERCURY belongs with the metals as the chemical element, not the planet or Freddie Mercury. LEAD is also a metal when pronounced “led”; the same spelling can be the verb pronounced “leed.” KING and QUEEN are mattress sizes here, while THRONE belongs with the toilet terms.
Rank #2
The toilet terms vary by context
CAN and JOHN are familiar informal terms in North American English; THRONE is a humorous euphemism. HEAD can mean a toilet particularly in nautical or military contexts, so it may be less familiar as slang to some players.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How difficult was this puzzle?
Difficulty judgments are subjective, not an official New York Times score. TechRadar’s writer described this puzzle as easy and reported a perfect solve. A separate report cited a Connections Companion rating of 2.4 out of 5; that figure is the Companion’s rating, not an NYT metric. TechRadar’s puzzle coverage and the report citing the Companion rating both discuss the game.
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