NYT ‘Connections’ August 21: Clues and Answers for Game #437

Happy hump day, Connections players! Newsweek is back with another round of hints and solutions for today’s puzzle from The New York Times.

Following the widespread success of Wordle—a word-based game that captured the hearts of millions, and that the Times bought in early 2022—the newspaper introduced Connections in 2023.

The game has quickly become a favorite among brainteaser enthusiasts, with fans across the globe eagerly sharing their daily progress and strategies on social media.

Wednesday’s answers are at the end of this article, so scroll with caution if you’d like to solve the puzzle yourself.

How to Play ‘Connections’

Connections tasks players with grouping 16 words into four categories based on association.

Each category is named after a color, which also signifies its difficulty. Yellow is the easiest category, followed by green, blue and purple. If a player guesses incorrect groups of words four times, the game ends, and they are defeated. There is no time limit for the game.

The uniting themes can come from various categories—be it Halloween costumes or music genres.

If all four words are correctly placed into a set, those words will be removed from the board. Each incorrect guess counts toward the mistake tally.

Wyna Liu, a crossword editor at the Times who was asked to develop Connections, previously told Newsweek about her recommended tips for playing the game.

“My best piece of advice is to wait as long as you can before guessing,” she said.

“You may see the board and have completely identified the category, seeing five words that could belong in that category,” she continued. “Don’t try to guess the four words in that category because even though you know what the fifth member is, you won’t know which of the four it might not be,” which would ultimately waste a turn.

“Don’t do what I do, which is ‘rage solve,'” Liu said.

‘Connections’ #437 Clues for Wednesday, August 21

Newsweek is here with some hints to help you identify today’s Connections categories.

Yellow: Words that convey the way you apply things like icing, paint and butter.

Green: Objects that are filled with air.

Blue: Ways numerical information can be presented.

Purple: Words that relate to a certain type of alcoholic beverage.

‘Connections’ #437 Answers for Wednesday, August 21

Yellow Category: COVER WITH A THICK LAYER

Yellow Words: Cake, Coat, Plaster, Smear

Green Category: THINGS THAT ARE INFLATED

Green Words: Balloon, Basketball, Floatie, Tire

Blue Category: KINDS OF CHARTS

Blue Words: Bar, Bubble, Line, Pie

Purple Category: CLASSIC COCKTAIL TYPES

Purple Words: Fizz, Punch, Sling, Sour

Did you work out the answers? If so, congratulations; if not, please don’t be put off the game. Practice makes perfect, and the next Connections puzzle will be published on Thursday.

Connections is released at midnight in your local time zone, and Newsweek will be back tomorrow with another round of hints and tips.

If you can’t wait, why not try these other popular online word puzzle games?