NYT Connections Hints & Answers — Monday, December 2, 2024 (#540)

Puzzle #540. 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 Monday, December 2, 2024 (puzzle #540) is: YELLOW — ANNOUNCE: BROADCAST, DECLARE, HERALD, TRUMPET. GREEN — THINGS INVOLVING MALLETS: CARPENTRY, CROQUET, WHAC-A-MOLE, XYLOPHONE. BLUE — ICON EMBROIDERED ON A POLO SHIRT: CROCODILE, LAUREL, POLO PLAYER, SWOOSH. PURPLE — ___ CLIP: ALLIGATOR, HAIR, PAPER, VIDEO.

Today's 16 words

The grid exactly as NYT laid it out for Monday, December 2, 2024. Nothing below this point is spoiled until you open it.

TRUMPET
CROQUET
CROCODILE
PAPER
ALLIGATOR
HAIR
WHAC-A-MOLE
HERALD
POLO PLAYER
BROADCAST
LAUREL
XYLOPHONE
CARPENTRY
VIDEO
SWOOSH
DECLARE

How hard is Connections #540?

Medium47/100
  • One category runs on wordplay rather than meaning.
  • At least one entry is a phrase rather than a single word.

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

Connections hints for Monday, December 2, 2024

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

NYT Connections answers for Monday, December 2, 2024

Keep playing

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Common questions

What is the NYT Connections answer for Monday, December 2, 2024?

The NYT Connections answer for Monday, December 2, 2024 (puzzle #540) is: YELLOW — ANNOUNCE: BROADCAST, DECLARE, HERALD, TRUMPET. GREEN — THINGS INVOLVING MALLETS: CARPENTRY, CROQUET, WHAC-A-MOLE, XYLOPHONE. BLUE — ICON EMBROIDERED ON A POLO SHIRT: CROCODILE, LAUREL, POLO PLAYER, SWOOSH. PURPLE — ___ CLIP: ALLIGATOR, HAIR, PAPER, VIDEO.

What is the purple group in Connections #540?

The purple (hardest) group is "___ CLIP": ALLIGATOR, HAIR, PAPER, VIDEO.

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

The yellow group is the most straightforward: "ANNOUNCE" — BROADCAST, DECLARE, HERALD, TRUMPET. Solving it first removes four words from the grid.

What number is today's Connections puzzle?

Monday, December 2, 2024 is NYT Connections puzzle #540. 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.