If you are staring at your screen, furiously shuffling words and trying to make sense of NYT Connections for August 9, you are not alone. Today’s puzzle (Game #790) is a classic example of how the New York Times editors love to lure us into a false sense of security before dropping a tricky “Purple” category that relies on wordplay rather than pure definition.
Whether you’re down to your last life or just want to keep your winning streak alive without the stress, we’ve got you covered. Below, you’ll find a breakdown of today’s game, starting with gentle, spoiler-free nudges and moving into the full reveal.
Let’s crack this board.
Table of Contents
Spoiler-Free Hints for NYT Connections August 9:
Before we ruin the surprise with the full answer key, let’s try to nudge you in the right direction. The beauty of Connections is that moment of realization when the “aha!” hits.
Here are four hints for the August 9 puzzle, ranked by how tricky the categories tend to be:
- Yellow Group Hint: Think about the outcome of hard work or an investment. What do you get at the very end?
- Green Group Hint: If you love making people laugh (or groan), you might have these in your repertoire.
- Blue Group Hint: A specific movie genre that combines love stories with things that go bump in the night.
- Purple Group Hint: This one is a “fill-in-the-blank” style category. Think of words that pair with a popular yellow vegetable.
Struggling with a specific word? If you see TWILIGHT on the board, don’t just think about time of day. Think pop culture. If you see SILK, don’t limit yourself to fabric—think about food.
Today’s Connections Groups: (The Themes)
Still stuck? Sometimes just knowing the theme of the group is enough to help you spot the four words without being handed the exact answer. Here are the four color-coded categories for August 9:
The Yellow Group (Easiest)
Theme: Result or Outcome This category is straightforward. Look for words that are synonyms for “output” or what is produced after a process is complete.
The Green Group (Easy/Medium)
Theme: Kinds of Jokes These are all distinct types of humor. Some are physical, some are verbal, and some are just plain cheesy.
The Blue Group (Hard)
Theme: Movies Featuring Supernatural Romance This is a trivia-heavy category. You need to know your film history. We aren’t just looking for scary movies; we are looking for scary movies where the main characters are in love.
The Purple Group (Hardest)
Theme: “Corn-y” Things Get ready for a pun. This category requires you to put the word “Corn” in front of the answers to make a new phrase or object.
NYT Connections Answers August 9 (The Reveal)
If you are ready to see the solution, here it is. Below are the four fully solved groups for the August 9 (Game #790) puzzle.
Yellow Group: Result
- FRUIT
- PRODUCT
- RETURN
- YIELD
Analysis: This was the “synonym” category of the day. While “Fruit” might have initially made you look for food items (perhaps pairing with “Muffin” or “Syrup”), it fits here in the metaphorical sense, as in “the fruit of your labor.”
Green Group: Kinds of Jokes
- DAD
- INSIDE
- KNOCK-KNOCK
- PRACTICAL
Analysis: A fun category that likely tripped people up with “Inside.” “Inside” is a common preposition that appears in many contexts, but here it specifically refers to an “Inside Joke.” “Practical” pairs with “Joke” to mean a prank.
Blue Group: Movies Featuring Supernatural Romance
- CASPER
- GHOST
- LET ME IN
- TWILIGHT
Analysis: This was arguably the trickiest group for non-movie buffs. “Twilight” (Vampires) and “Casper” (Ghosts) are obvious, but “Let Me In” is a specific vampire film that might not be on everyone’s radar. “Ghost” refers to the classic 1990 Patrick Swayze film.
PURPLE Group: Corn-y Things
- MAZE
- MUFFIN
- SILK
- SYRUP
Analysis: The classic “Word Before/After” trap.
- Corn MAZE
- Corn MUFFIN
- Corn SILK (The shiny fibers on an ear of corn)
- Corn SYRUP
Definitions & Tricky Words Explained:
Why was today’s puzzle difficult? The NYT editor, Wyna Liu, often uses “red herrings” words that look like they belong in one group but actually belong in another.
- The Food Trap: With words like FRUIT, MUFFIN, and SYRUP on the board, it was very tempting to try and build a “Breakfast” category. However, “Fruit” belonged to the Yellow group (Results), and “Syrup/Muffin” were relegated to the Purple wordplay group.
- The “Corn” Pun: “Corn Silk” is a term that not everyone uses daily. If you weren’t familiar with that specific part of the vegetable, identifying the Purple category would have been nearly impossible without solving the others first.
- Pop Culture Overlap: “Casper” is a friendly ghost, but he is also a cartoon character. “Twilight” is a time of day. The game relies on you identifying the specific pop culture entity (the movie franchise) to make the connection to the Blue group.
NYT Connections archive to practice spotting these types of red herrings in previous games.
How to Improve Your Connections Strategy?
If today’s NYT Connections hints for August 9 saved your streak, you might want to sharpen your skills for tomorrow. Here are three semantic SEO-backed strategies to solve the puzzle faster:
1. Shuffle the Board Immediately
Our brains are wired to find patterns in proximity. If “Fruit” and “Muffin” are sitting next to each other, your brain will insist they are related. Hit the Shuffle button to break visual bias and force your brain to see new relationships.
2. Identify the “Unique” Word
Often, the Purple category (the hardest one) contains words that have no synonyms on the board. For example, SILK has no fabric-related partner today. When a word seems to have no match, it is usually part of a “Word Association” or “Fill-in-the-Blank” category (like Corn Silk).
3. Don’t Commit to the First Group You See
Speed is not a factor in Connections. If you see four words that fit a “Movies” category, pause. Are there actually five? Today, we had four movies, but sometimes the editors include a fifth word that sounds like a movie title but actually belongs to a synonym group. Always check for a fifth wheel before hitting submit.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What was the hardest group in the August 9 Connections?
The Purple group (“Corn-y Things”) was likely the hardest because it required a lateral thinking leap to add the word “Corn” before each answer (Corn Maze, Corn Silk). The Blue group was also challenging if you aren’t familiar with the movie Let Me In.
Is there a specific time the NYT Connections puzzle resets?
Yes, the New York Times Games reset daily at midnight in your local time zone. If you are playing globally, you might see the August 10 puzzle before your friends in the US.
What does “One Away” mean in Connections?
If you submit a guess and the game shakes and says “One Away,” it means you have correctly identified three words from a group, but the fourth word you selected is wrong. This is a crucial hint stop and identify which word is the imposter!
Can I play past Connections puzzles?
Unlike the Crossword, the NYT does not currently have an official, easy-to-access archive for past Connections games within the app. However, various fan-made archives exist online if you want to replay the August 9 puzzle or others you missed.
How does Connections compare to Wordle?
While Wordle tests your vocabulary and spelling, Connections tests your semantic reasoning and cultural knowledge. It is less about knowing the definition of a word and more about knowing the contexts in which that word is used.
