Solve the Daily NYT Crossword Challenge: Hints and Solutions for May 18 (Clue Set #342)

Quick Links

• What Is Connections?
• Hints for Today’s Connections Groups
• What Are Today’s Connections Groups?
• Today’s NYT Connections Answers
• How Did We Solve This Connections Game?
• How Do You Guess Connections Groups?

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 342nd Connections game to get you started:

• Yellow: More than one critter is listed.
• Green: Abrupt change in direction.
• Blue: Games that don’t involve digital technology.
• Purple: Sometimes wound, sometimes bouncy.

What Are Today’s Connections Groups?

If you still need help, the actual group names are:

• Yellow: Animals Whose Names are Two Animals
• Green: Sharp Turns
• Blue: Classic Party Games
• Purple: Things with Spring/s

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Today’s NYT Connections Answers

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Animals Whose Names Are Two Animals (Yellow):

Bulldog, Catfish, Horsefish, Turtledove

Sharp Turns (Green):

Dogleg, Hairpin, Switchback, Zag

Classic Party Games (Blue):

Categories, Charades, Fishbowl, Werewolf

Things with Spring/s (Purple):

Clock, Mattress, Mousetrap, Trampoline

How Did We Solve This Connections Game?

May 18th was immediately daunting. There were so many long words! It seemed likely at least one group would involve the words themselves, so I started looking at them.

One thing that jumped out at me pretty quickly was the bulldog, catfish, horsefish, and turtledove are all words made up of multiple animal words. I tried them out as a group and got Yellow, “Animals Whose Names Are Two Animals.”

Dogleg, hairpin, switchback, and zag are all terms that can mean a “Sharp Turn,” and that was the exact group name for Green.

Clock, mattress, mousetrap, and trampoline are connected by one thing: they have springs. It was a weak link, but it was all I had, so I ran with it. Surprisingly enough, Purple was actually “Things with Springs.”

That left the words categories, charades, fishbowl, and werewolf. Some of these I recognize as games, so I’m assuming they’re all games of some kind. Blue was “Classic Party Games.”

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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.

1. Look for similar parts of speech. Are some words verbs and others nouns? Are some adjectives? Try mentally grouping them based on those categories and see if any other patterns jump out at you.
2. Are the words synonyms? Sometimes categories will just be synonyms for a phrase, or very close to synonyms. Don’t rely too closely on this, though. Occasionally, Connections will deliberately throw in words that are sometimes synonyms to mislead you.
3. Try saying the words. Sometimes, saying the words helps. One puzzle we saw included the words go, rate, faster, clip, pace, speed, move, commute, and hurry—all of which are obviously related to the idea of motion. However, when you say them, it becomes a little more obvious that only four (go, move, hurry, faster) are things you’d actually say to prompt someone to get moving.
4. Expect the red herring . Connections usually has words that could be plausibly, yet incorrectly, grouped together. Take the words Bud, Corona, and Light, as an example. You might instinctively see those three words together and assume they’re lumped together in a category related to beer—but they weren’t.
5. Look for distinct words. If a word on your board doesn’t have multiple meanings or can really only be used in one context, try using that word as the basis for a category.
6. Shuffle the board. Sometimes, moving words around will help you look at them in new ways.

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.