Good morning! Let’s play Connections, the NYT’s clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need clues.

What should you do once you’ve finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I’ve also got daily Wordle hints and answers, Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.

Your Connections expert

Marc McLaren
Your Connections expert

Marc McLaren

NYT Connections today (game #503) – today’s words

NYT Connections hints for game 503 on a purple background

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today’s NYT Connections words are…

  • SWING
  • THROW
  • ROCKER
  • ROLLER
  • RATTLE
  • THREAD
  • CRADLE
  • SPOOL
  • CAN
  • RUFFLE
  • CHAT
  • HAMMOCK
  • CONVERSATION
  • SILO
  • CHAIN
  • FAZE

NYT Connections today (game #503) – hint #1 – group hints

What are some clues for today’s NYT Connections groups?

  • Yellow: Cause (minor?) distress
  • Green: Communication series, probably online
  • Blue: Rock a bye baby?
  • Purple: All of a shape

Need more clues?

We’re firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today’s NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #503) – hint #2 – group answers

What are the answers for today’s NYT Connections groups?

  • YELLOW: FLUSTER
  • GREEN: SERIES OF MESSAGES
  • BLUE: PLACES TO LIE/SIT THAT MOVE
  • PURPLE: CYLINDER-SHAPED THINGS

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #503) – the answers

NYT Connections answers for game 503 on a purple background

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today’s Connections, game #503, are…

  • YELLOW: FLUSTER FAZE, RATTLE, RUFFLE, THROW
  • GREEN: SERIES OF MESSAGES CHAIN, CHAT, CONVERSATION, THREAD
  • BLUE: PLACES TO LIE/SIT THAT MOVE CRADLE, HAMMOCK, ROCKER, SWING
  • PURPLE: CYLINDER-SHAPED THINGS CAN, ROLLER, SILO, SPOOL

  • My rating: Easy
  • My score: Perfect

I’m pretty sure that I could have played today’s Connections for a week and never have spotted the link between SPOOL, CAN, ROLLER and SILO. Yes, they are all CYLINDER-SHAPED THINGS – but I don’t think that would ever have occurred to me; the connection is just too obtuse. Then again it is the purple group, so it’s not like it was ever going to be easy.

Fortunately the other three were nowhere near as bad. I spotted blue first, guessing that CRADLE, HAMMOCK, ROCKER and SWING were all PLACES TO LIE/SIT THAT MOVE – or if not quite that, then at least recognizing that they were all of a kind. Yellow and green were straightforward too, meaning my fledgling streak advanced to 10.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.


Yesterday’s NYT Connections answers (Friday, 25 October, game #502)

  • YELLOW: • DOT, PERIOD, POINT, TITTLE
  • GREEN: EVENT WITH DANCING BALL, FORMAL, HOP, RAVE
  • BLUE: IPHONE MESSAGE TAPBACK RESPONSES EXCLAMATION POINTS, HEART, QUESTION MARK, THUMBS UP
  • PURPLE: “PAN” BAD REVIEW, CAMERA MOVEMENT, COOKWARE, SATYR

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don’t technically need to solve the final one, as you’ll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What’s more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It’s a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It’s playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

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