Waking up and staring at a grid of sixteen words can feel like a personal attack. You've got your coffee. You've got five minutes before the morning meeting starts. Then, you see it—the Connections hint Dec 17 search query is already trending because, let’s be honest, Wyna Liu didn't make this one easy.
The New York Times Connections puzzle has this specific way of getting under your skin. It’s not just about what the words mean. It’s about what they could mean if you squint hard enough. Today’s puzzle is a classic example of "red herrings" meeting "wait, is that actually a word?"
What is Going on With the Connections Hint Dec 17 Grid?
If you are looking at the screen and seeing words that seem to belong to three different categories at once, don't panic. That is the point. The December 17 puzzle leans heavily on words that function as both nouns and verbs.
Look at the word "STAMP." Is it something you put on an envelope? Is it something you do with your foot when you're annoyed? Or is it a characteristic mark? The puzzle wants you to commit to one definition too early. Don't do it.
Most players trip up because they find three words that fit perfectly and then spend ten minutes brute-forcing a fourth. That is a trap. If you see "RAIN," "SNOW," and "HAIL," you are looking for "SLEET," but the puzzle might give you "REIGN" instead. It plays with your ears as much as your eyes.
Breaking Down the Difficulty Spikes
The yellow category—usually the straightforward one—actually requires a bit of a leap today. It’s not just "synonyms for big." It’s more about a specific type of scale.
Then there’s the purple category. Purple is the "wordplay" or "missing word" category. For the Connections hint Dec 17 update, purple involves a shared prefix or a word that follows a common theme that isn't immediately obvious. Think about things that come in sets of four or things you find in a specific room of the house.
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I’ve noticed a lot of people on Twitter and Reddit complaining that the blue category felt more like a purple today. That happens when the connection is based on a niche hobby or a very specific industry term. If you aren't into, say, carpentry or high-end fashion, those words might look like gibberish next to each other.
The Overlap Problem
You might see "CHASE" and "FOLLOW." Naturally, you think "Pursue." But then "HUNT" is there too. And "DOG." Wait, is "DOG" a verb here?
This is the "internal overlap" strategy the NYT editors love. They give you five words for one category, forcing you to figure out which one actually belongs to a more obscure group. Honestly, it's brilliant. It's also infuriating when you're on your last mistake.
Quick Hints for Every Color
If you just want a nudge without the full spoilers, here is how to think about the December 17 groups.
Yellow: Things that are "Extra"
Think about words that describe something being more than the standard. If a movie is too long, or a bed is bigger than a Queen, or someone is doing "too much," these words apply.
Green: To Leave a Mark
This group is all about physical impressions. Not emotional ones—actual, physical indentations or marks left on a surface.
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Blue: Parts of a Whole
Look at the words and ask: "Is this a component of a specific machine or a piece of furniture?" One of these words is very common in a kitchen, but also in a workshop.
Purple: ____ Word
This is the "fill in the blank" group. Try putting a word before each of these. "Salt," "Fire," "Water." Does one of those work for at least three of the words you have left?
Why Connections is Harder Than Wordle
Wordle is a logic puzzle based on elimination. It’s a closed system. Connections is an open system based on cultural literacy and lateral thinking.
With the Connections hint Dec 17 puzzle, you aren't just solving for letters. You are solving for how the editor thinks. You have to account for slang, British vs. American English, and even pop culture references from thirty years ago.
Yesterday, someone told me they gave up on Connections because it felt "unfair." I get that. But the "unfairness" is actually the game. It's the moment where you realize "LEAD" isn't a metal, it's a starring role. That "aha" moment is why we keep coming back.
How to Save Your Streak Today
- Don't click yet. Spend one full minute just looking. Do not select a single word.
- Say them out loud. Sometimes hearing the word helps you realize it's a homophone.
- Find the "Outlier." If there is a word like "QUARTZ" or "AXEL," it probably only has one or two possible meanings. Start there.
- Shuffle. The NYT app has a shuffle button for a reason. Your brain gets stuck on the visual proximity of words. Break the pattern.
The Dec 17 Solution Path
If you are down to your last guess and the Connections hint Dec 17 didn't get you there, here is the final breakdown of what you are looking at.
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The Yellow Category: Excessive
The words are: EXTRA, SPARE, SUPER, SURPLUS.
These are all synonyms for having more than what is necessary. It's the easiest group, provided you didn't try to put "EXTRA" in a movie-related category.
The Green Category: Making an Impression
The words are: DENT, NICK, NOTCH, SCORE.
This is where people get tripped up. "SCORE" usually means points in a game, but here it means to make a cut or a line in a material.
The Blue Category: Table Parts
The words are: LEAF, LEG, APRON, TOP.
"Apron" is the tricky one here. In furniture making, the apron is the piece that connects the legs to the top surface. If you didn't know that, you likely tried to put "APRON" with "CHEF" or "KITCHEN."
The Purple Category: Words After "POLE"
The words are: NORTH, SOUTH, TELEPHONE, TOTEM.
Classic purple. It's a "blank word" category. Once you see it, it's obvious, but until you do, "TELEPHONE" and "NORTH" look like they belong on different planets.
Moving Forward With Your Strategy
Tomorrow is going to be a different beast. To get better at this, you have to stop thinking like a dictionary and start thinking like a poet—or a prankster.
The editors love categories like "Palindromes," "Words that start with body parts," or "Silent letters." If you're stuck, stop looking at what the words are and start looking at how they are built.
The best thing you can do now is go back to the grid and see where you went wrong. Did "SCORE" trick you? Did you think "LEAF" was about a tree? Analyzing your mistakes is the only way to beat the NYT at its own game.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Analyze your "Red Herrings": Look at the words you grouped together that were wrong. What was the false connection? Recognizing these "trap" categories (like "Table" vs "Kitchen") will help you avoid them in tomorrow's puzzle.
- Study Furniture Anatomy: Seriously. The NYT loves "Parts of a [Object]" categories. Knowing the obscure names for parts of a shoe, a book, or a chair will save your streak more often than you'd think.
- Practice Lateral Thinking: When you see a word, force yourself to come up with three different definitions—one noun, one verb, and one slang. This mental flexibility is the key to mastering Connections.