NYT 'Linkups' Suggestions and Responses for Sunday, December 22 (paraphrased)
NYT 'Linkups' Suggestions and Responses for Sunday, December 22 (paraphrased)
Hey there folks! Hope y'all are having a swell weekend!
I'm a few days into my end-of-year semi-vacation. It's not a full vacay, 'cause I enjoy writing this column every day, but it's still nice to take a bit of a break. I managed to catch some extra Z's the other night with a 15-hour snooze fest. That was much-needed.
FYI, I've started a discussion group for this column and Connections on Discord. You can chat about the game or whatever topic you like with me and other peeps. It's fun. Plus, it's the best way to give me feedback, especially when I mess something up.
Today's NYT Connections hints and answers for Sunday, December 22, are coming right up.
How To Play Connections
Connections is a free, popular New York Times daily word game. Get a new puzzle every night at midnight. You can play on the NYT website or the Games app.
Your task is to arrange 16 words into four groups of four by figuring out the links between them. The groups could be things like items that click, names for research study participants, or words preceded by a body part.
There's only one solution for each puzzle, and you'll need to be careful with words that might fit in more than one category. You can shuffle the words to help you see connections between them.
Each group is color-coded. The yellow group is usually easiest, blue and green are in the middle, and the purple group is usually the hardest. The purple group often involves wordplay.
Select four words you think go together and press Submit. If you're wrong, you'll lose a life. If it's close, you might get a message telling you that you're almost right, but you'll still need to figure out which word to swap.
If you make four mistakes, it's game over. To help you out, here are some hints and the day's Connections answers.
If you have an NYT All Access or Games subscription, you can access the publication's Connections archive. This includes every previous game of Connections.
Aside from the first 60 games, you should be able to find my hints for each grid via Google if you need them. Just click here and add the date of the game for which you need clues or answers.
What Are Today's Connections Hints?
Scroll slowly! Just after the hints for each of today's Connections groups, I'll reveal what the groups are without immediately telling you which words go into them.
Today's 16 words are...
- STATS
- CROWN
- ABBOTT
- ELEMENTARY
- NUN
- KEY
- DOME
- ABBA
- LAUREL
- MONK
- COCONUT
- FRY
- SKULL
- BONES
- KAYAK
- KOJAK
And the hints for today's Connections groups are:
- Yellow group —
- Green group — the same both ways
- Blue group — detective dramas
- Purple group — one half of a humorous whole
What Are Today's Connections Groups?
Need extra help?
Entering spoiler territory now, so be warned.
Today's Connections groups are...
- Yellow group — slang for head
- Green group — palindromes
- Blue group — police procedurals
- Purple group — first in a comedy duo
What Are Today's Connections Answers?
Praying you're not scrolling ahead too soon!
Today's Connections answers are...
- Yellow group — slang for head (COCONUT, CROWN, DOME, SKULL)
- Green group — palindromes (ABBA, KAYAK, NUN, STATS)
- Blue group — police procedurals (BONES, ELEMENTARY, KOJAK, MONK)
- Purple group — first in a comedy duo (ABBOTT, FRY, KEY, LAUREL)
I had a two-game winning streak that came to an end. Here's how I did:
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟨🟦🟦🟦
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟨🟨🟪🟨
🟪🟪🟨🟪
🟪🟪🟨🟨
I enjoyed the Abbott Elementary reference on the top line, what a great show!
I managed to obtain the greens swiftly, but I was just short of a team with a guess of CROWN, MONK, BONES, and KOJAK. I regretted my mistake a second too late. ELEMENTARY is also a detective show, but CROWN isn't (it's The Crown, you know). So, I made that adjustment to obtain the blues.
Then, I attempted a guess of LAUREL, CROWN, SKULL, and DOME, which are things often positioned on top. I was just one guess away. My next attempt was off the mark. I thought they might be religious symbols, but the concept was fundamentally flawed as I included both LAUREL and DOME (both found in one-guess away attempts) along with KEY and ABBOTT. I replaced LAUREL with SKULL, but it didn't work.
I was quite frustrated as I couldn't crack it! I had a feeling early on that there might be a connection to comedy duos due to ABBOTT and LAUREL. However, the head-related aspect didn't click with me as it should have.
The comedic duos in question are ABBOTT and Costello, FRY and Laurie, KEY and Peele, and LAUREL and Hardy.
That wraps up today's Connections clues and answers. Be sure to drop by my blog tomorrow for hints and the solution for Monday's game if you need it.
P.S. I plan to attend several shows in early 2025, starting with a Sum 41 concert. They're disbanding, so this will be the sole opportunity to witness them live.
I'm quite excited! I was a fan of theirs back in the day, and "In Too Deep" is one of the most iconic pop-punk tracks from the early 2000s. That legendary guitar solo and the way it's spotlighted in the music video have left an indelible mark on my mind:
Have a fantastic day! Give someone you care about a call!
If you fancy, feel free to follow my blog for more coverage of Connections , other word games, and even some video game news, insights, and analysis. It really helps me out a lot! Also, don't forget to follow me on Bluesky!
- If you're looking for a place to discuss the game and share feedback, join the Discord discussion group for NYT Connections.
- Today, you can find the hints and answers for NYT Connections on December 22 in this article.
- For those who enjoy detective dramas, the blue group in today's NYT Connections puzzle includes some popular shows.
- If you're struggling with today's purple group in NYT Connections, think of comedic duos and their first members.