Tim Mulkerin
Credit: Ian Moore
If you’re looking for the Connections answer for Tuesday, June 4, 2024, read on—I’ll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solutions to all four categories. Along the way, I’ll explain the meanings of the trickier words and we’ll learn how everything fits together. Beware, there are spoilers below for June 4, NYT Connections #359! Read on if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today’s Connections game.
If you want an easy way to come back to our Connections hints every day, bookmark this page. You can also find our past hints there as well, in case you want to know what you missed in a previous puzzle.
Below, I’ll give you some oblique hints at today’s Connections answers. And farther down the page, I’ll reveal the themes and the answers. Scroll slowly and take just the hints you need!
Credit: Connections/NYT
Hints for the themes in today’s Connections puzzle
Here are some spoiler-free hints for the groupings in today’s Connections:
Yellow category - Words that refer to acquiring money.
Green category - You might need these things to dress up as Merlin or Gandalf.
Blue category - Words you might hear at sea, while on a vessel.
Purple category - A fill-in-the-blank, with a letter of the alphabet.
BEWARE: Spoilers follow for today’s Connections puzzle!
We’re about to give away some of the answers. Scroll slowly if you don’t want the whole thing spoiled. (The full solution is a bit further down.)
A heads up about the tricky parts
STAFF can be a word for the five horizontal lines that music is written on, but that word doesn’t go with CLEF today, another musical term.
SPAN, BRIDGE, and CLEAR are all words that work with “___ the gap” but they all belong to different categories today.
You might be interested to know that a KEEL is a word that describes a very important part of a ship.
What are the categories in today’s Connections?
Yellow: TAKE HOME, AS INCOME
Green: PARTS OF A WIZARD COSTUME
Blue: FOUND ON A SHIP
Purple: C-___
DOUBLE BEWARE: THE SOLUTION IS BELOW
Ready to learn the answers to today’s Connections puzzle? I give them all away below.
What are the yellow words in today’s Connections?
The yellow grouping is considered to be the most straightforward. The theme for today’s yellow group is TAKE HOME, AS INCOME and the words are: CLEAR, EARN, MAKE, NET.
What are the green words in today’s Connections?
The green grouping is supposed to be the second-easiest. The theme for today’s green category is PARTS OF A WIZARD COSTUME and the words are: BEARD, HAT, ROBE, STAFF.
What are the blue words in today’s Connections?
The blue grouping is the second-hardest. The theme for today’s blue category is FOUND ON A SHIP and the words are: BRIDGE, DECK, HATCH, KEEL.
What are the purple words in today’s Connections?
The purple grouping is considered to be the hardest. The theme for today’s purple category is C-___ and the words are: CLEF, SECTION, SPAN, SUITE.
How I solved today’s Connections
STAFF, HAT, and ROBE are all iconic things a wizard might have, and that would go with BEARD, too. STAFF and HAT were next to each other right from the start, which can sometimes be an indication of a red herring, but it seems like a strong hit. 🟩
NET, MAKE, and EARN are all words for acquiring money. That could go with CLEAR, maybe, but I’m not sure.
It also looks like there might be a music category, with CLEF (as in, a treble clef), BRIDGE, and SECTION, but that seems like a stretch.
SPAN, BRIDGE, and CLEAR are all words that refer to overcoming a gap.
I think of KEEL in terms of the phrase “keel over,” a slang-y way to describe death or giving up, but a quick Google search tells me that it can also refer to a part of a ship. Oh, and that's actually where the phrase "keel over" comes from. Neat. That would fit with HATCH, BRIDGE, and DECK. 🟦 Phew, we’re making headway.
I’m out of ideas, so let’s try MAKE, NET, EARN, and CLEAR. 🟨
That leaves SUITE, SECTION, CLEF, and SPAN, which I realize now are all words that take on a different meaning when the letter C is put in front of them. 🟪 The C-SUITE is a phrase that refers to the top-level executives at a company; a C-SECTION is a procedure used to deliver a baby via an incision in the belly; a C-CLEF is a musical symbol (I had only ever heard of a bass and treble clef, honestly); and C-SPAN is a television channel that broadcasts various government activities, like live footage of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Connections Puzzle #359🟩🟩🟩🟩🟦🟦🟦🟦🟨🟨🟨🟨🟪🟪🟪🟪
How to play Connections
I have a full guide to playing Connections, but here’s a refresher on the rules:
First, find the Connections game either on the New York Times website or in their Games app (formerly the Crossword app). You’ll see a game board with 16 tiles, each with one word or phrase. Your job is to select a group of four tiles that have something in common. Often they are all the same type of thing (for example: RAIN, SLEET, HAIL, and SNOW are all types of wet weather) but sometimes there is wordplay involved (for example, BUCKET, GUEST, TOP TEN, and WISH are all types of lists: bucket list, guest list, and so on).
Select four items and hit the Submit button. If you guessed correctly, the category and color will be revealed. (Yellow is easiest, followed by green, then blue, then purple.) If your guess was incorrect, you’ll get a chance to try again.
You win when you’ve correctly identified all four groups. But if you make four mistakes before you finish, the game ends and the answers are revealed.
How to win Connections
The most important thing to know to win Connections is that the groupings are designed to be tricky. Expect to see overlapping groups. For example, one puzzle seemed to include six breakfast foods: BACON, EGG, PANCAKE, OMELET, WAFFLE, and CEREAL. But BACON turned out to be part of a group of painters along with CLOSE, MUNCH, and WHISTLER, and EGG was in a group of things that come by the dozen (along with JUROR, ROSE, and MONTH). So don’t hit “submit” until you’ve confirmed that your group of four contains only those four things.
If you’re stuck, another strategy is to look at the words that seem to have no connection to the others. If all that comes to mind when you see WHISTLER is the painting nicknamed “Whistler’s Mother,” you might be on to something. When I solved that one, I ended up googling whether there was a painter named Close, because Close didn’t fit any of the obvious themes, either.
Another way to win when you’re stuck is, obviously, to read a few helpful hints–which is why we share these pointers every day. Check back tomorrow for the next puzzle!
