It happened again this morning. You opened the New York Times Games app, saw that familiar grid of sixteen words, and immediately felt that specific brand of "NYT Connections" anxiety. Then you saw them. Bro and sis. Two tiny words that seem so simple, yet in the context of Wyna Liu’s daily puzzle, they are usually a trap. Honestly, if you’ve ever stared at your phone at 7:00 AM wondering if "sis" belongs with "bro" or if it’s actually part of a category involving "biological suffixes," you aren’t alone.
The bro and sis NYT phenomenon isn't just about family. It’s about how our brains process linguistic shortcuts.
The Cruel Genius of the Bro and Sis NYT Trap
Connections is a game of misdirection. That is its entire soul. When you see bro and sis together, your lizard brain screams Siblilngs! or Family Members! But the NYT editors know that. They count on it. They want you to waste one of your four precious lives on a guess that is "one away" because you fell for the obvious connection.
Think back to Puzzle #264 or the various iterations where "Bro" appeared. Was it a slang term for a male friend? Was it part of a "Words that start with a prefix" group? Or maybe, just maybe, it was actually a "Warner ___" (Warner Bros).
The game relies on something psychologists call "functional fixedness." We see a word and we can only see its primary meaning. In the bro and sis NYT puzzles, these words are often "red herrings." A red herring is a word that fits perfectly into a category that doesn't actually exist in that day’s grid. It’s a ghost.
Why We Get So Angry at These Four-Letter Words
It’s personal. NYT Games have become a cultural currency. We share our colored squares on GroupMe, WhatsApp, and X (formerly Twitter). When we fail because we thought "sis" was a family member but it was actually a "shortened form of a name" alongside "Liz" and "Phil," it feels like a betrayal.
Wyna Liu, the associate puzzle editor at the Times, has actually talked about this. In various interviews and behind-the-scenes pieces for the Times' "Wordplay" column, the editorial team explains that they look for words with multiple "lexical identities."
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Bro can be:
- A sibling.
- A fraternity member.
- A casual greeting.
- A prefix (Bros.).
- Part of "Bro-down" or "Bro-mance."
Sis can be:
- A sibling.
- A term of endearment.
- The start of "Sisyphus" (unlikely, but hey, it's the NYT).
- A biological suffix like "Osis" or "Phere."
When you see them both in a grid, you're being tested on your ability to ignore the obvious. Most people can't. They click. They lose a life. They get "one away." Then the panic sets in.
The Strategy of the Pivot
If you want to beat the bro and sis NYT traps, you have to stop playing the game forward and start playing it backward. Look at the hardest words first. Usually, those are the purple or blue categories.
The "Yellow" category is the straightforward one. If "Bro" and "Sis" are in the yellow category, the link is almost certainly "Informal terms for siblings." But the NYT loves to take one sibling and put it in yellow, and take the other and hide it in a purple category about, say, "Palindromes" or "Words that sound like states" (looking at you, Miss.).
Let's Talk About Word Associations
Humans love patterns. It's how we survived the savanna. If you saw a rustle in the grass, you assumed a predator. In Connections, if you see bro and sis, you assume family.
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But modern linguistics, especially the type used in competitive puzzling, treats words as modular units. In the 2024 puzzles, we saw an increase in "fill-in-the-blank" categories. These are the ones where the connection is "___ [Word]."
- Warner Bro
- Sister Sis (Doesn't work)
- Soul Sis (Better)
See the problem? They don't always match. If "Bro" fits a "___ [Word]" category and "Sis" doesn't, they aren't in the same group. Period. You have to be cold-blooded about it.
The Cultural Impact of the Daily Grid
Why does this even matter? Why are millions of people obsessed with whether bro and sis NYT clues are related?
Because it’s a shared struggle. Since its beta launch in June 2023 and its subsequent move to the main app, Connections has filled a void left by Wordle’s simplicity. Wordle is a math problem; Connections is a lateral thinking test. It’s about how you see the world.
If you see bro and think of your brother, you’re a literalist. If you see bro and think of "Broseph" or "Bros before Hoes" or "Bro-mo-sapien," you’re a lateral thinker. The NYT rewards the latter.
How to Actually Get Better
Stop guessing immediately. That’s the first rule. Most people fail because they try to "lock in" the easy yellow category first.
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Instead, try this:
- Find every possible word that could mean "Friend."
- If you find five words (e.g., Bro, Pal, Bud, Mate, Sis), you know one of them is a lie.
- Look at the leftover word (the "lie") and see if it fits anywhere else.
- If "Sis" also fits into a category with "Boom" and "Bah," you’ve found your purple category (Cheerleading chants).
The bro and sis NYT connection is rarely the one you think it is on your first pass. It's a game of patience. It’s a game of "What else could this be?"
Practical Steps for Your Next Puzzle
Don't let the grid bully you. When you see those short, three-letter or four-letter words that seem to pair up perfectly, treat them with extreme suspicion.
- Say the word out loud. Does it have a different pronunciation? (e.g., "Lead" like the metal or "Lead" like a dog leash).
- Check for abbreviations. "Bro" is often "Bros" without the 's' in people's minds.
- Look for compound words. Can you put another word in front of it or after it?
- Wait until the end. If you aren't 100% sure about the siblings, solve the other three categories first. The last four words will always be a group, even if you have no idea why.
The next time you're faced with a bro and sis NYT dilemma, take a breath. Step away from the screen for five minutes. Let your brain's "diffuse mode" take over. Usually, the real connection will jump out at you once you stop trying so hard to find the one that's staring you in the face.
The NYT puzzle isn't trying to be your friend. It's trying to be a riddle. And every riddle has a trap. Bro and sis are just the bait.
Next Steps for Connections Masters:
Analyze the grid for "overlapping" categories before making your first selection. If you see more than four words that fit a single theme, identify which word has the most "alternate lives" (like bro or sis) and set it aside. This prevents the "one away" error that kills most streaks. Focus on the most obscure words first—the ones you don't use in daily conversation—as they typically have fewer meanings and are easier to place in a definitive group.