New York Times: Clues and answers for Friday, Nov. 28 - Connections hints for #901

If you're tackling today's New York Times Connections puzzle rather than diving into Black Friday deals, Ive got some guidance! I made a couple of mistakes while solving, so Ill offer hints (and spoilers if needed) for Friday's puzzle #901. No worries about peeking these puzzles are meant to be tricky.

How I Approached the Puzzle

Heres the order I solved the groups: yellow, green, blue, purple. I stumbled twice, particularly on the purple and green groups. If youre new to NYT Connections, here are some tips and a quick rundown of todays solution.

About NYT Connections

NYT Connections is a challenging word game where 16 words are arranged in a 4x4 grid. The objective is to sort them into four color-coded groups: yellow, green, blue, and purple. Yellow tends to be the easiest group to identify, while purple is often the trickiest.

Each group shares a common theme. For example, a past blue group centered on related to buying a home with words like appraisal, escrow, insurance, and mortgage.

If you submit a wrong answer, you have four guesses before the game ends and reveals the solutions. You can also click the lightbulb icon for hints.

Be warned the game only allows one puzzle per day, resetting at midnight.

Tips for Playing

• If an answer is incorrect, pay attention to the top message. One away means only one word is misplaced. Analyze each word and try switching it to another group.
• Shuffle the board if stuck. It can help reveal new word combinations.
• Start with the yellow group; these words are often synonyms and easier to spot, though watch for tricky words that could fit multiple groups.
• If youre completely stuck, take a break and return later fresh eyes help reduce mistakes.

Hints for Today's Puzzle

Here are some subtle hints for each color group:

• Yellow group: Appropriate
• Green group: Win
• Blue group: Not an acoustic instrument
• Purple group: How sounds are perceived

Sample hint words from each group:

• Yellow: Proper
• Green: Worst
• Blue: Pickup
• Purple: Loudness

Official Group Names

• Yellow group: Fitting
• Green group: Achieve victory over
• Blue group: Parts of an electric guitar
• Purple group: Phonetic elements of speech

Today's Answers

• Yellow: Fitting (fair, just, proper, right)
• Green: Achieve victory over (beat, best, take, worst)
• Blue: Parts of an electric guitar (fret, peg, pickup, string)
• Purple: Phonetic elements of speech (intonation, loudness, rhythm, stress)

My Personal Experience

While solving purple, I mistakenly tried intonation, rhythm, beat, and fret. In the green group, I used "peg" instead of "worst." Heres a visual of my results:

Thanks for reading! Share your results in the comments.

Author's Comment: Reflections on Today's NYT Connections Puzzle

Today's New York Times Connections puzzle, #901, was another tricky challenge that proved to be a bit more difficult than expected. While many solvers likely breezed through the yellow and green groups, the purple and blue categories posed some issues for me. As always, the puzzle pushes players to think critically, and getting stuck is just part of the process.

The yellow group, as usual, was the easiest to solve. The words were straightforward and shared a clear connection based on their meanings, making it simple to group them. However, I stumbled a couple of times with the green group, where "peg" was mistakenly placed instead of "worst." It’s a reminder that even experienced solvers can make errors, especially when words appear to fit multiple categories.

As for the purple group, that’s where I really had to dig deep. I tried words like "intonation," "rhythm," and "beat," but only upon reviewing did I realize I’d mixed up some of the connections. The purple category often brings a challenge due to the subtle nuances in the way sounds are perceived, which made it trickier to group the words correctly.

Overall, I managed to work through the puzzle by following a logical approach: starting with the easier yellow group, moving on to the green, and then tackling the blue and purple groups last. Although I didn’t solve it flawlessly, this experience served as a reminder of the importance of taking breaks when stuck and returning with fresh eyes. It’s easy to get overwhelmed, but a bit of distance can help clear the mind and lead to a successful solution.

In the end, the solution was as follows: Yellow (Fitting), Green (Achieve victory over), Blue (Parts of an electric guitar), and Purple (Phonetic elements of speech). The puzzle is a great mental workout, and it’s always interesting to see how the word groupings challenge your thinking. I’ll be looking forward to tomorrow’s puzzle!

Sources:

• NYT Connections hints today for #901: Clues and answers for Friday, Nov. 28