Today's Connections has four hidden groups of four. Start with a gentle nudge and only open more if you need it.
Happy puzzling! This one starts friendly and gets a bit trickier, so trust your instincts.
Hint 1: One word from each group
Each of these words belongs to a different group.
- Yellow (easiest): CLOSE
- Green: MINION
- Blue: CHEVRON
- Purple (hardest): ARIAL
Hint 2: A nudge for each group
A gentle push toward each theme, easiest to hardest.
- Think of what happens when a story reaches its last beat.
- These describe a follower who never gets to call the shots.
- Picture face décor, especially the styles that sit above the lip.
- Say them aloud, and a famous animated cast starts to surface.
Hint 3: Yellow (easiest) group theme
The yellow group is Finish.
Hint 4: Green group theme
The green group is Lackey.
Hint 5: Blue group theme
The blue group is Mustaches.
Hint 6: Purple (hardest) group theme
The purple group is Homophones Of Disney Characters.
Show all four answers
Finish
CLOSE, END, STOP, WRAP
Lackey
MINION, POODLE, PUPPET, STOOGE
Mustaches
CHEVRON, HORSESHOE, PENCIL, WALRUS
Homophones Of Disney Characters
ARIAL, BELL, DOCK, MINI
About this puzzle
- Edited by Wyna Liu
- Groups are listed from easiest (yellow) to hardest (purple).
Connections deep dive
More about today's puzzle. Everything in this section can include the answer.
Why each word belongs in its group, with a short dictionary meaning where one exists.
Yellow (easiest): Finish
- CLOSE: (physical) To remove or block an opening, gap or passage through.
- END: The terminal point of something in space or time.
- STOP: (intransitive) To cease moving.
- WRAP: (transitive) To enclose (an object) completely in any flexible, thin material such as fabric or paper.
Green: Lackey
- MINION: A loyal servant of another, usually a more powerful being.
- POODLE: A breed of dog originating in Europe as hunting dogs, and having heavy, curly coat in a solid color; their shoulder h...
- PUPPET: Any small model of a person or animal able to be moved by strings or rods, or in the form of a glove.
- STOOGE: One who knowingly allows himself or herself to be used for another's profit; a dupe.
Blue: Mustaches
- CHEVRON: A V-shaped pattern; used in architecture, and as an insignia of military or police rank, on the sleeve.
- HORSESHOE: The U-shaped shoe of a horse, now typically made of metal; by extension, a representation of this used to play the ga...
- PENCIL: A writing utensil with a graphite (commonly referred to as lead) shaft, usually blended with clay, clad in wood, and ...
- WALRUS: A large Arctic marine mammal related to seals and having long tusks, tough, wrinkled skin, and four flippers, Odobenu...
Purple (hardest): Homophones Of Disney Characters
- ARIAL: (typography) A sans serif typeface designed by Monotype as a clone of Helvetica. Notably a default Windows font.
- BELL: (music) A percussive instrument made of metal or other hard material, typically but not always in the shape of an inv...
- DOCK: Any of the genus Rumex of coarse weedy plants with small green flowers related to buckwheat, especially bitter dock (...
- MINI: Miniature, tiny, small.
Play today's Connections at The New York Times
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