Hints for NYT “Connections” Today: Clues and Answers for Monday, February 10

Welcome to another exciting day of solving puzzles! Today’s NYT Connections puzzle brings a fun mix of word associations, including trickier connections that may test your patience. Don’t worry—we’ve got hints and solutions to help you make it through without losing all your lives. Let’s dive in!

How To Play NYT Connections

NYT Connections is a daily word game available on the New York Times website and app. The goal is to arrange 16 words into 4 groups of 4, based on their hidden connections. Some words may fit into multiple groups, so you’ll need to be careful with your guesses. The groups are color-coded:

• Yellow: Easiest to identify
• Blue and Green: Moderate difficulty
• Purple: Usually the hardest, often involving wordplay or tricky associations

You have four lives—if you make four mistakes, it’s game over. Ready to solve today’s puzzle?

Today’s Puzzle: Words to Sort

Here are the 16 words you’ll be working with today:

• AUNT
• AROMA
• SHOWER
• BOUQUET
• VASE
• PEPPER
• NOSE
• STOP
• UNCLE
• TOMATO
• TRUCE
• DUST
• SCATTER
• NOTE
• EITHER
• MERCY

Today’s Hints:

If you want a gentle nudge in the right direction, check out these hints before jumping into the answers:

• Yellow group: Related to sprinkling or scattering
• Green group: Descriptors commonly associated with wine aromas
• Blue group: Terms that signal someone giving up or asking for a break
• Purple group: Words with different pronunciations (depending on the region)

Scroll down for solutions if you’re stuck!

Today’s Connections Groups and Explanations:

Yellow group – Sprinkle:

• DUST
• PEPPER
• SCATTER
• SHOWER

These words all involve the concept of sprinkling or scattering. Whether you’re dusting furniture or peppering your food, these actions share the same motion of dispersing small particles.

Green group – Scents of wine:

• AROMA
• BOUQUET
• NOSE
• NOTE

Wine tasting often involves describing the scents using terms like “bouquet” or “aroma.” “Nose” refers to a wine’s smell, and “note” describes specific scent details (e.g., fruity or floral notes).

Blue group – “Aah, enough!” (Giving up):

• MERCY
• STOP
• TRUCE
• UNCLE

These words are used to signal surrender or ask someone to stop. Saying “uncle” is a playful way of admitting defeat, commonly used in games or playful arguments.

Purple group – Words with variable pronunciations:

• AUNT
• EITHER
• TOMATO
• VASE

These words are famously pronounced differently depending on regional accents. For example:

• AUNT (either “ant” or “awnt”)
• EITHER (“ee-ther” or “eye-ther”)
• TOMATO (“tuh-MAY-toh” or “tuh-MAH-toh”)
• VASE (“vahz” or “vays”)

Today’s Connections Answers Recap:

• Yellow group – Sprinkle: DUST, PEPPER, SCATTER, SHOWER
• Green group – Scents of wine: AROMA, BOUQUET, NOSE, NOTE
• Blue group – “Aah, enough!”: MERCY, STOP, TRUCE, UNCLE
• Purple group – Variable pronunciations: AUNT, EITHER, TOMATO, VASE

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My Thoughts on Today’s Puzzle:

I had a pretty smooth start by quickly identifying the yellow sprinkle group and the blue “giving up” group. However, the purple group threw me off for a moment. I initially overlooked the pronunciation connection, despite hesitating over words like TOMATO and AUNT as I read them aloud. The green wine group was a bit easier once I spotted terms like BOUQUET and AROMA. In hindsight, I should’ve caught the purple connection sooner, but I’m happy to say I wrapped up the puzzle after only one mistake.

If you’re ever stuck, try shuffling the word grid or reading the words aloud—you might notice hidden connections that you wouldn’t spot otherwise. Good luck with tomorrow’s puzzle, and feel free to share your results or feedback in the Discord group! 😊

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