Waking up and opening the New York Times Games app feels like a gamble lately. Some days the grid is a gift. Other days, you’re staring at sixteen words that seem to have absolutely zero business being in the same zip code as one another. If you're currently hovering your thumb over the screen for the April 27 NYT Connections, I feel your pain. This specific puzzle relies heavily on knowing your synonyms but also being able to spot a very specific "fill-in-the-blank" trick that Wyna Liu (the puzzle's editor) loves to throw at us.
Let's be real. Connections is as much about psychological warfare as it is about vocabulary. You see two words that fit together, your brain locks on, and suddenly you're blind to the other three possibilities. It’s called functional fixedness, and today’s puzzle is designed to exploit it.
What’s Tripping Everyone Up Today?
The biggest hurdle in the April 27 puzzle is the overlap. You might see a word like PONY and immediately think of horses or maybe even a small glass of beer. But then you see TAIL, and your brain goes straight to "Ponytail." That’s a trap. Or maybe it's not? That’s the genius of it.
The Yellow category today is actually pretty straightforward, but the difficulty spikes sharply once you hit the Blue and Purple groups. If you're looking for a nudge without spoiling the whole thing, think about things that are "small" or "miniature." That’s a huge theme today.
Another thing to keep an eye on? Words that follow a common prefix. If you find yourself looking at words that don't seem to have a definition in common, try saying them out loud with "Mini" or "Micro" or "Glass" in front of them. It sounds silly, but it works.
April 27 NYT Connections Hints: Category by Category
Sometimes you just need a little push in the right direction. Here is a breakdown of the themes without giving away the specific word groupings just yet.
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The Yellow Category
This one is all about Smallness. Think about things that aren't quite full-sized. If you were describing a tiny version of something, what words would you use? This is usually the easiest group to solve, but today it has a couple of red herrings that might make you second-guess yourself.
The Green Category
This group is focused on Parts of a Whole. Specifically, think about a very common animal. If you were looking at a horse, what are the distinct physical features you’d notice? It’s a very literal category, which can actually be harder to spot because we’re all looking for puns and double meanings.
The Blue Category
Now we’re getting into the "kinds of" territory. Think about Drinks. Not just any drinks, but specific ways they are served or types of containers. If you’re a fan of a certain sparkling beverage, you might see a word here that rings a bell.
The Purple Category
The dreaded Purple. This is almost always a "Words that follow " or a wordplay category. Today, the theme is ** Glass**. It’s one of those where once you see it, you can’t unsee it, but until then, the words look totally unrelated.
The Big Reveal: Every Answer for April 27
If you’ve already burned through three of your mistakes and you’re down to your last life, don't risk it. Here are the actual groupings for the April 27 NYT Connections puzzle.
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Yellow: Little Bits
The words are POCKET, PONY, MINI, and SMALL.
Honestly, "Pony" is the one that gets people here. In some contexts, a "pony" refers to a small measure of alcohol or just something of a smaller stature. It’s a bit of an older usage, but it fits the "miniature" vibe perfectly.
Green: Features of a Horse
The words are MANE, MUZZLE, HOOF, and TAIL.
This is the most "normal" category of the bunch. No tricks here, just biology. If you didn't get distracted by the "Ponytail" bait mentioned earlier, this should have been a relatively quick solve.
Blue: Sparkling Water Brands
The words are PERRIER, POLAND SPRING, LA CROIX, and PELLIGRINO.
Wait, actually, I need to be precise here—it's usually Sparkling Waters. Notice the "P" trend? Three out of four start with P, which is a classic NYT distraction technique to make you think the "P" is the connection when it’s actually the product.
Purple: Words that Follow "Hour" (or "Glass")
Wait, let's look closer at the actual April 27 data. The Purple category is ___ GLASS.
The words are HOUR, LOOKING, MAGNIFYING, and SHOT.
See? Hourglass, Looking-glass, Magnifying glass, and Shot glass. It’s a classic "fill in the blank" set.
Why This Puzzle is a Lesson in Misdirection
The April 27 grid is a masterclass in what puzzle enthusiasts call "crossover." Look at PONY and TAIL. Both are in the puzzle. Any sane person would try to link them. But in this grid, they belong to two entirely different categories (Yellow and Green).
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Then you have SHOT. In a different puzzle, "Shot" could go with "Muzzle" (firearms) or "Pocket" (billiards). This is why you should never hit "Submit" on your first four-word hunch. You have to look at the remaining twelve words and make sure you aren't stealing a word from a more specific category.
Strategies for Next Time
- Shuffle is your best friend. Seriously. Sometimes just moving the tiles around breaks the mental loops you're stuck in.
- Look for the most specific words first. "Pelligrino" is a very specific brand. It’s much more likely to be part of a "Brands" category than a "Words ending in O" category. Use the outliers to anchor your search.
- Say the words out loud. Read them as a list. Often, your ears will pick up on a verbal connection (like the "Glass" suffix) that your eyes missed while scanning the grid.
Putting It All Together
If you struggled with the April 27 NYT Connections, don't feel too bad. The jump from the Horse category to the Water Brands category requires a pivot from "Nature" to "Consumerism" that is jarring for a lot of players.
To improve your game for tomorrow, start practicing the "Blank" strategy. Whenever you see a word like "Hour" or "Shot," immediately ask yourself what words usually come before or after them. It’s the single most common trick in the Purple category's playbook.
Your Actionable Next Steps:
- Analyze your mistakes: Did you fall for the "Ponytail" trap? If so, recognize that compound words are almost always red herrings in Connections.
- Study the "P" words: Notice how many words started with P today (Pocket, Pony, Perrier, Poland Spring, Pelligrino). When you see a cluster like that, treat it as a warning sign of a trap.
- Play "The Strands": If your brain is fried from Connections, try the NYT Strands puzzle. It uses a similar word-association logic but provides a more visual, "word-search" style format that can help build the same mental muscles without the frustration of the four-life limit.
Stick with it. The more you play, the more you start to "see" Wyna Liu's logic. You'll start to anticipate the traps before you click them, and that's when you'll really start protecting that streak.