NYT Connections Answers: The New York Times’ daily word game, Connections, returned on Tuesday, December 23, with a puzzle that mixed psychology, pop culture, and clever word tricks. As usual, players were given 16 words and asked to sort them into four hidden groups. While some links were easy to sense, others were designed to mislead. 

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Like Wordle, Connections resets every day and has become a daily habit for many players who enjoy spotting patterns and thinking carefully before each move. If today’s grid felt confusing, here is a full and simple breakdown with hints and the final answers.

What Is Connections & How Do You Play?

Connections is a word puzzle where you must group 16 words into four sets of four. Each group shares a common idea, but many words look like they could fit in more than one place. That is where most mistakes happen.

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For example, words like “Hook,” “Nana,” “Peter,” and “Wendy” all belong to the Peter Pan characters. In another case, “Action,” “Ballpark,” “Go,” and “Stick” all come before the word “Figure.”

Your goal is to find all four correct groups. You are allowed only four mistakes. On the fourth wrong guess, the game ends and the answers are shown. Each group also has a colour that shows how hard it is:

  • Yellow (easiest)
  • Green (easy)
  • Blue (medium)
  • Purple (hardest)

The game looks simple, but it often hides tricky ideas and word traps.

Hints & Full Solution To NYT Connections (December 23)

Here are the official hints for today’s puzzle:

  • Yellow: Waterloo.
  • Green: Think of Sigmund.
  • Blue: It’s about the fashion.
  • Purple: See any hidden meat?

Extra hints:

  • Today’s themes include fictional characters, psychology, and synonyms.
  • Dracula and Frankenstein are not in the same group.

One word from each group for extra help:

  • Yellow: Kryptonite
  • Green: Unconscious
  • Blue: Superman
  • Purple: Dogma

Full Solution for Tuesday, December 23:

 

  • Yellow (Vulnerability): Achilles’ Heel, Downfall, Kryptonite, Soft Spot
  • Green (Freudian Concepts): Fixation, Oedipus Complex, Superego, Unconscious
  • Blue (Characters In Capes): Darth Vader, Dracula, Little Red Riding Hood, Superman
  • Purple (Starting With Slang For Sausage): Bratz, Dogma, Frankenstein, Linklater

 

This puzzle tested both general knowledge and careful reading. The psychology group stood out if you knew Freud, while the vulnerability words were easier once “Kryptonite” was spotted. 

The purple group was the trickiest, hiding slang inside longer words. Overall, it was a smart and layered puzzle that rewarded patience and attention.