Connections is a game from the New York Times that challenges you to find the association between words. It sounds easy, but it isn’t—Connections categories can be almost anything, and they’re usually quite specific. If you need a hand getting the answers, we’ve got you covered.

What Is Connections?

Connections is a game from the New York Times. The objective is simple: sort 16 words into groups of 4. Each group of words will be connected by some common idea or theme. That common element could be anything. We have seen everything from games that rely on the number of letters in the words to categories that require you to spot an extra letter at the end of the word. Sometimes they’re references to economics, other times they reference fairy tales. There is no telling what sort of association there will be between words.

Once you’re confident you understand the connection, select 4 words, then hit “Submit.” You have only four attempts in total, so don’t be too guess-happy.

Hints for Today’s Connections Groups

Here are a few hints for the 462nd Connections game to get you started:

Dwarf, Sea, Sin

How Did We Solve This Connections Game?

September 15th’s words gave me a bit of trouble when I got to Purple.

The first group I got was Green, “Decrease.” Decline and drop were dead giveaways, and dwindle and ebb seemed like natural fits.

Inhabit and live seemed to be talking about a home or something like that, and dwell (or dwelling), fits that connection. Of the remaining words stay also fits—sorta. Together, dwell, inhabit, live, and stay made up the Yellow group.

Clown, dweeb, sap, and turkey are all insults. They were in the Blue group, “Doofus.” Nowthatis an insult I need to work into my vocabulary.

That left Dwarf, Sea, Sin, and Wonder in Purple. I couldn’t really see any connection between the words themselves, but saying them out loud eventually made me realize that each is famously paired with the number seven: The seven dwarfs, seven seas, seven sins, and seven wonders of the world.

How Do You Guess Connections Groups?

There is no quick, reliable way to approach Connections like there is with Wordle, since Connections isn’t algorithmic. However, there are a few things to keep in mind that can help.

If you didn’t solve this one, don’t feel too bad—there’s always tomorrow! And those words may align with a topic you’re interested in, giving you a leg up on the competition.