Twist Of Words: NYT’s April 17 ‘Connections’ Puzzle Serves Up Pizza, Beer & Baseball
As the puzzle veterans will tell you, the beauty of Connections lies in its ability to tease the brain with misdirection, red herrings, and clever overlaps.
NYT Connections Answers Today: Another day, another deviously clever grid from The New York Times has left puzzle lovers scratching their heads and triumphantly high-fiving themselves. The April 17 edition of Connections, Puzzle #675, threw wordsmiths into a mental maze with 16 seemingly unrelated words — but beneath the surface lay four clever themes just waiting to be cracked.
Let’s break down the challenge and see what links today’s word soup.
The Body Talk Cluster
The easiest group to crack today — marked in yellow — is centred around body anatomy, more specifically the midsection. The terms “Core,” “Midriff,” “Torso,” and “Trunk” formed a team, each one pointing to that central part of the human frame. No real red herrings here, but it still required some anatomical alignment of the brain cells.
Pizza Party On the Grid
Green, representing another "easy-ish" level, served up a culinary combo. Four words — “Cheese,” “Crust,” “Sauce,” and “Toppings” — made the mouths of pizza lovers water. This grouping was straightforward once you thought about food. But in a puzzle designed to mislead, it’s not always that easy to follow the crumbs to the right solution.
Beer Buddies Unite
Blue brought a slightly more niche challenge. At first glance, “Case,” “Growler,” “Six-Pack,” and “Forty” may seem like a bizarre quartet. But think beer, and it all starts to click. These are all ways to buy or store beer, from small personal bottles to hefty containers. A perfect category for the weekend warriors out there.
Diamond Legends: A Field of Dreams
Purple — the hardest of the bunch — paid homage to some of baseball’s most iconic names. “Bonds,” “Mantle,” “Trout,” and “Young” weren’t just random nouns, but surnames of Major League Baseball legends. This one was a curveball if you're not a sports fan.
As a bonus hint to aid stuck solvers, the guide pointed out, “Trunk and case are in different groups”, and that “you’ll find last names in today’s puzzle” — a subtle nudge toward both the body category and the baseball heroes.
If you needed help but wanted to avoid full spoilers, the guide also teased one word from each group: “Torso,” “Sauce,” “Case,” and “Young.”
How It All Fits Together
Here’s how today’s Connections puzzle finally broke down:
- Yellow (Easiest): Central Section Of The Body – Core, Midriff, Torso, Trunk
- Green (Easy): Components Of A Pizza – Cheese, Crust, Sauce, Toppings
- Blue (Medium): Units Of Beer – Case, Forty, Growler, Six-Pack
- Purple (Hardest): Baseball Greats – Bonds, Mantle, Trout, Young
As the puzzle veterans will tell you, the beauty of Connections lies in its ability to tease the brain with misdirection, red herrings, and clever overlaps. But no matter how tricky it gets, the thrill of grouping those final four words correctly keeps fans coming back every day.
Ready to play again? Tomorrow’s grid promises another set of sneaky links — and yes, we’ll be here to help crack it.
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