You’re staring at the grid. It’s June 13, and the New York Times has decided to be particularly cruel today. We’ve all been there—one mistake left, three words that definitely fit together, and a fourth that seems like it belongs in a completely different language. Honestly, today’s puzzle is a bit of a trip down memory lane, especially if you lived through the late '90s.
If you are looking for NYT Connections hints June 13, you’ve probably already noticed a few words that feel like they belong at a summer outing or maybe a record store from twenty years ago. The difficulty today isn't just in the words themselves; it’s the way they overlap. One word in particular, SCOOP, is a massive red herring that might leave you burning through your mistakes faster than an ice cream cone melts in the sun.
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What’s Tripping Everyone Up Today?
The biggest trap in this puzzle is the crossover between journalistic jargon and literal objects. You see SCOOP and you think, "Okay, that’s news." Then you see ANGLE and POINT OF VIEW and you’re convinced you’ve found a "Media" category. But wait. There’s also CONE and CUP.
Suddenly, the "news" group falls apart.
This is classic Wyna Liu. She loves to take a word with two distinct meanings and place it right where those meanings collide. To get through this, you have to separate the physical items from the conceptual ones.
The 1998 Connection
For many players, the Blue category is the real "aha!" moment—or the reason for a total meltdown. If you weren't listening to the radio in 1998, words like IRIS and ONE WEEK might just look like a flower and a unit of time. They aren't. They are massive radio hits that defined an era.
Hints for Every Category
If you don't want the full answers yet, let’s try to nudge your brain in the right direction.
Yellow Hint: How You See It
This group is all about perspective. It’s not about physical sight, but rather the "slant" or "lean" someone has on a topic.
Green Hint: Dessert Essentials
Think about your local Baskin-Robbins or Ben & Jerry's. What do you need to actually consume the ice cream?
Blue Hint: Turn Up the Radio
This is the one that might hurt. These are all song titles. Specifically, songs that were absolutely inescapable in the year 1998.
Purple Hint: Add a Flame
These words all share a common prefix. If you add the word "Hot" before them, they become common phrases or objects.
Today's Connections Answers (June 13)
Alright, if you’re tired of guessing and just want to keep your streak alive, here is the breakdown of the actual groups for the June 13 puzzle.
Yellow: Perspective
- ANGLE
- BENT
- LENS
- POINT OF VIEW
Expert Note: "Bent" is the tricky one here. We often use it to describe a natural inclination or talent, but in this context, it refers to a particular way of looking at a problem.
Green: Seen at an Ice Cream Shop
- CONE
- CUP
- LITTLE SPOON
- SCOOP
The Twist: As mentioned, "Scoop" and "Point of View" (from Yellow) often live together in the world of journalism, but here, "Scoop" is strictly for the gelato.
Blue: Hit Songs of 1998
- CLOSING TIME (Semisonic)
- IRIS (Goo Goo Dolls)
- ONE WEEK (Barenaked Ladies)
- TOO CLOSE (Next)
The Difficulty: This is a "Medium-Hard" group because if you don't know the songs, these words have almost zero relation to each other. "Closing Time" and "One Week" look like they belong in a "Time" category, while "Iris" looks like it belongs with "Lens."
Purple: Hot _____
- DOG (Hot dog)
- POTATO (Hot potato)
- ROD (Hot rod)
- WATER BOTTLE (Hot water bottle)
The Final Reveal: This is actually one of the more straightforward Purple categories we've seen lately. Usually, Purple involves some weird homophone or internal wordplay, but "Hot ____" is a fairly standard "Fill in the Blank" connection.
Strategies for Your Next Game
To avoid losing your streak on tricky days like this, try the "Wait and See" method. Never lock in a group of four until you’ve at least identified a potential second group. If you find five words that fit a category (like the five "media/perspective" words today), you know one of them is a spy.
In this case, LENS and IRIS both relate to eyes/cameras, which is another clever distraction. By noticing that IRIS was also a song, and LENS fit better with ANGLE, you could untangle the mess.
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If you’re still struggling with the 1998 references, don't feel bad. Every Connections puzzle has a "knowledge check," and today’s was a test of your Billboard Hot 100 history.
To make sure you're ready for tomorrow's grid, take a second to look at the words you missed today. Did you miss them because of a double meaning or because you didn't know a specific reference? Identifying your "blind spots" is the fastest way to stop falling for the NYT's favorite traps.