NYT Connections Hints & Answers — Thursday, December 14, 2023 (#186)

Puzzle #186. Start with a gentle nudge and work down — the full answers are at the bottom, hidden until you ask for them.

Just tell me the answer

The NYT Connections answer for Thursday, December 14, 2023 (puzzle #186) is: YELLOW — PESTER: BADGER, BUG, HOUND, NAG. GREEN — SPORTS VENUES: ARENA, BOWL, DOME, FIELD. BLUE — SEPARATE: DIVIDE, FORK, PART, SPLIT. PURPLE — SILVER ___: FOX, LINING, SCREEN, SPOON.

Today's 16 words

The grid exactly as NYT laid it out for Thursday, December 14, 2023. Nothing below this point is spoiled until you open it.

SPOON
BUG
SCREEN
FORK
BOWL
PART
HOUND
FOX
FIELD
BADGER
SPLIT
DOME
NAG
LINING
ARENA
DIVIDE

How hard is Connections #186?

Medium52/100
  • One category runs on wordplay rather than meaning.
  • Lots of very short words, which carry more possible meanings.

Where to start: Look for the four words that combine with "Silver" — locking that group down removes four red herrings from the rest of the grid.

Connections hints for Thursday, December 14, 2023

Four levels, each giving away a little more. Open only as many as you need.

NYT Connections answers for Thursday, December 14, 2023

Keep playing

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Common questions

What is the NYT Connections answer for Thursday, December 14, 2023?

The NYT Connections answer for Thursday, December 14, 2023 (puzzle #186) is: YELLOW — PESTER: BADGER, BUG, HOUND, NAG. GREEN — SPORTS VENUES: ARENA, BOWL, DOME, FIELD. BLUE — SEPARATE: DIVIDE, FORK, PART, SPLIT. PURPLE — SILVER ___: FOX, LINING, SCREEN, SPOON.

What is the purple group in Connections #186?

The purple (hardest) group is "SILVER ___": FOX, LINING, SCREEN, SPOON.

What is the easiest group in today's Connections puzzle?

The yellow group is the most straightforward: "PESTER" — BADGER, BUG, HOUND, NAG. Solving it first removes four words from the grid.

What number is today's Connections puzzle?

Thursday, December 14, 2023 is NYT Connections puzzle #186. Connections launched on 12 June 2023 with puzzle #1, and a new puzzle is published every day.

What time does a new NYT Connections puzzle come out?

A new Connections puzzle unlocks at midnight in your own local time zone, so the changeover happens at a different moment around the world. The puzzle itself is the same for everyone on a given date.