NYT Connections tips for #903: Clues and solutions for Sunday, Nov. 30

Struggling with the New York Times Connections game today? I made a couple of mistakes myself, so Im sharing some tips and solutions to help you navigate puzzle #903. Dont feel guilty for looking at hints these puzzles are designed to be tricky. Heres the approach I used to solve each group: blue, yellow, green, and purple.

If you're new to NYT Connections, heres a quick overview: the game displays 16 words in a four-by-four grid, and your goal is to organize them into four color-coded groups yellow, green, blue, and purple. Yellow is usually the easiest, while purple tends to be the most challenging. Each group is formed by a common connection between the four words.

For example, in a previous puzzle, the blue group related to buying a home included appraisal, escrow, insurance, and mortgage. If you submit an incorrect guess, you have four attempts before the game ends, and the answers are revealed. The game also offers a lightbulb icon for hints, though Ill provide guidance here as well.

Tips for Solving NYT Connections

1. When a guess is wrong, read the message at the top of the puzzle. One away indicates only one word is misplaced. Reevaluate each word to see if it fits better in another group.
2. If you feel stuck, shuffle the board. Shuffling can help you notice different word combinations and connections.
3. Start with the yellow group, as these words are usually the easiest to identify. They often share clear similarities, but watch for words that might fit multiple groups.
4. If the puzzle seems too difficult, take a break and return later. A fresh perspective often reduces mistakes.

Hints for Today's Puzzle

Purple group: Parts of these words sound like colors.

Solutions for Puzzle #903 (Spoilers Ahead)

Stop here if you want to try solving it yourself!

• Yellow group (Tolerate): bear, stand, stomach, swallow
• Green group (Flop): bust, lemon, miss, turkey
• Blue group (Fictional pirates): Hook, Luffy, Silver, Sparrow
• Purple group (Ending in color homophones): cameroon, cockatiel, unread, whistleblew

Initially, I thought one group might be birds, which led to some colorful guesses. I also assumed the blue group connected to captains, but the correct link was that they are all pirates. Adjusting Cameroon to Silver completed the puzzle.

Share how you tackled todays puzzle in the comments!

Author: Sophia Brooks