Issue #202 Sat 30 Dec
NYT Connections Hints & Answer — December 30, 2023
A steady day for the grid, with two straightforward clusters balanced against two more technical challenges. The wordplay demands a bit of patience as the connections shift between literal and linguistic.
yellow group 7 hints
Yellow group hints
A photograph taken in high contrast where the subject is almost entirely obscured by its own shadow.
Natural World
Shared visual characteristics
Members are 4–5 letters; first letters O, P, S, Z.
BLACK-AND-WHITE ANIMALS
One is ORCA.
ORCA · PANDA · SKUNK · ZEBRA
green group 7 hints
Green group hints
The way you line up the carts at the grocery store or organize your books by size.
Arrangement and Order
Synonyms
Members are 5–6 letters; first letters C, S, T.
SEQUENCE
One is CHAIN.
CHAIN · SERIES · STRING · TRAIN
blue group 7 hints
Blue group hints
You read the same sentence twice, but the meaning shifts because your internal emphasis landed on a different syllable.
Linguistic phenomena
Spelling-based variation
Members are 4–6 letters; first letters B, D, W.
HETERONYMS
One is BASS.
BASS · DOVE · DESERT · WIND
violet group 7 hints
Violet group hints
A souvenir shop in a town you only visit once, or the camera flash you were not ready for.
Common phrases
Word association
Members are 4–7 letters; first letters B, S, T.
___ TRAP
One is BEAR.
BEAR · SAND · SPEED · TOURIST
Spoiler zone
Complete Connections answer
Open only the solution you want to see. Each answer stays hidden until you choose to reveal it.
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Reveal the yellow group
BLACK-AND-WHITE ANIMALSORCA · PANDA · SKUNK · ZEBRA
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Reveal the green group
SEQUENCECHAIN · SERIES · STRING · TRAIN
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Reveal the blue group
HETERONYMSBASS · DOVE · DESERT · WIND
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Reveal the violet group
___ TRAPBEAR · SAND · SPEED · TOURIST
Verified solution for .
Frequently asked questions
Spoiler-free help for Connections on December 30, 2023. Every answer below helps you along without giving the game away — ready to see the full solution? See the complete Connections answer for December 30, 2023, or browse every Connections puzzle in the archive.
How hard is NYT Connections on December 30, 2023?
NYT Connections on December 30, 2023 rates 3 out of 4 on our difficulty scale — a tougher-than-average puzzle. As always you sort sixteen words into four colour-coded groups, and our hints tease what links each group without ever naming the words.
What's a spoiler-free hint for NYT Connections on December 30, 2023?
The hint ladder above starts with a one-line vibe for each of the four groups, then adds the connecting idea, then the wording of each category. You climb only as far as you need, and no grouped words are shown until the final reveal.
How many groups are in NYT Connections #202?
Four groups of four, ordered from the gentlest to the trickiest. For the categories and the sixteen words themselves, open the answer section on this page — the hints here keep them hidden.
Today
- Difficulty
- Stiff
- At a glance
- 4 groups · 16 words
Today on Cluestand
Today
- Difficulty
- Stiff
- At a glance
- 4 groups · 16 words