Today's Connections Hints & Answers For December 19, 2024 (Puzzle #557)

If you feel like you have been postponing today’s Connections puzzle because it is making you frustrated, you can check out these hints and tips to make things a little clearer. There are some interesting words in today’s puzzle, most of which are all nouns, and there is some overlap particularly in two of the categories. This can make things a little harder, but it is entirely possible to solve it, particularly if you have a little help along the way.

If you are looking to play another puzzle today, you can check out the NYT Wordle puzzle. It employs a similar logical deduction as the Connections puzzle, but it is focused on a single word as opposed to multiple ones. There are a lot of different possibilities every day for which 5-letter word they are going to use, but that list is growing shorter the longer the puzzle goes on. Using a combination of possible deductions, you can get closer and closer to the right word, just be sure to get the answer in less than 6 guesses.

Today’s Connections Category Hints

DECEMBER 19 #557

If you are looking for hints on today’s puzzle, you are in the right place. There are a lot of different ways you can look at the puzzle, each of which offers you a new perspective and a different method by which to get the right answer. Everyone is coming at these puzzles with a different level of experience, which means that each category may be more or less difficult for everyone. Today, there are a few reasons why each category might present a challenge.

One category is about what you might do if something is coming up and you do not have time to finish it
One category is about four things you might find in a particular setting
One category is about four things that all traverse the same type of environment
One category is about four things that can be found in a particular fictional place

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If you are still not sure about any of your answers, you can try using the following category names to get the rest of the way there.

	DEFER
	BAR FIXTURES
	WATERCRAFT
	SEEN IN “DONKEY KONG”

Today’s Connections Answers

DECEMBER 19 #557

Yellow Answers: Revealed & Explained

DEFER
DELAY	POSTPONE	SHELVE	TABLE

This was in fact the easiest category for me today, as DELAY and POSTPONE are both fairly big hints. Luckily, there are not really any extra words that could belong in this category, and players should be able to nab this one. Not everyone may know that SHELVE or TABLE means the same thing as delaying something else, but with luck, it should be easier to spot due to the lack of other words that could go here. I was familiar with those uses, so I was able to get it fairly easily.

Green Answers: Revealed & Explained

BAR FIXTURES
COUNTER	KEG	STOOL	TAP

This one is tricky, particularly without knowing the category names. By all rights, TABLE and BARREL should both belong here, perhaps in lieu of the other words. TABLE was fairly easy to eliminate because of it being one of the only words that should go in the previous category, but BARREL is much harder if you don’t pick up on the Donkey Kong theme. BARREL, KEG, and TAP seem like they belong together much more than some of the other options, so this one is very likely to waste a few guesses.

A character jumping on a Connections board.

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Blue Answers: Revealed & Explained

WATERCRAFT
BARGE	JUNK	SUB	TUG

This one was a little easier today, mainly due to the presence of SUB, TUG, and BARGE. Having a grandpa in the navy certainly helped, as he took me to a lot of different ship museums, but I think these are generally well-known enough to pick up on it. JUNK is a little more vague, and players will have to know that these exist in order to correctly guess. If you have done well up to this point, there is nothing else that would be considered watercraft.

Purple Answers: Revealed & Explained

SEEN IN “DONKEY KONG”
BARREL	GORILLA	HAMMER	LADDER

BARREL is still the worst part of guessing this one, as the other could all be considered tools that would help you guess them together without picking up on the right video game setting. But taking BARREL out of the bar feels wrong in some ways. Knowing the category is almost essential for separating those two groups of words. Or that is how it felt to me today, with a lot of “one away” but not close enough guesses.

Other Games Like Connections

If you want to keep trying out new things, check out a new puzzle in the box below today.

Game Name	How To Play	Is It Free To Play?
Wordle (NYT)	Solve a random five-letter word by using color clues. Every Wordle answer can be found in our daily updated list.	Yes
Worldle	Name a country based only on its silhouette, and a few geographical hints.	Yes
The Password Game	Create a password in this ever-changing, not-so-simple game. You can find some helpful tips in our Password Game guide.	Yes
Absurdle	Try to solve a game of Wordle without any help. With each guess, the game reveals as little information as possible, even changing the word if need be.	Yes