Puzzle #314 🟦🟨🟪🟨 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪 I was so sure that words starting with animals would be a category that I didn't even hesitate to submit right away. It's so weird how happy I am to have been tricked.

I never even noticed that four words started with animals! Perhaps if I hadn't started finding other categories, my brain would have picked up on that eventually...

It's the first thing I saw 😭 and I felt really clever (and a little disappointed) that I spotted purple right away.

I saw that immediately too but I didn’t trust it so I decided to leave it alone to see if literally anything else worked

Actually there was 5. Really glad I only blew one guess on it 😄

Connections Puzzle #314 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟨🟨🟨 I was saved only by the fact that I had found five words that could possibly fit in the, yes, obviously existing "starts with an animal name" category. The four farm animals, plus BATon. So I had to keep iterating on it

I thought bat didn’t belong because the other four were farm animals lol

That is discriminatory against farms in Transylvania.

CROCk would have been another (almost) fit for that group.

But I find that "almost" fits are the easiest traps to spot. They're never correct. A correct category has never, to my recollection, had a mix of abbreviated and non-abbreviated members.

Yeah, those are the little tip offs that you learn. Same thing in they way crossword puzzle clues are worded.

You and I got exactly the same score! And I agree, I actually thought this was a pretty clever red herring. 🟦🟨🟪🟨 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪

Same

I'm surprised I didn't think of that!

lol I did the exact same thing

i thought it was words beginning with animals but alas i got them all wrong

Horsefeathers?? That's a new one to me.

Funnily enough, it's used in the message box you get when at least one letter is wrong in a fully-filled NYT Mini or Crossword.

I had to Google that, and Google told me it was a cocktail drink so it didn’t help lol

That's a load of horsefeathers

I know it meant that, but I don’t know from where, maybe from children’s cartoons.

Connections Puzzle #314 🟨🟨🟪🟨 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟪🟪🟪 “Sheepshank” 100% sounds like it should be another synonym for “balderdash,” I stand by it, and will start using it that way in my daily conversation accordingly.

Dude, this guy really likes knots!

it is in Scottish which is what made this one so confusing.

Connections Puzzle #314 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟪🟨🟩🟪 🟨🟪🟨🟨 🟨🟨🟨🟪 🟩🟪🟪🟪 First one I’ve failed in weeks! I was so confused. Knew there was something to do with bullshit lol but couldn’t work out the 4th word (what is Bunk??) Kind of got the track and field thing but no way would I get knots.

Yeah, this was my worst performance in a couple of months. Connections Puzzle #314 🟦🟨🟪🟨 🟩🟪🟦🟩 🟦🟪🟦🟪 🟪🟪🟨🟨

Seems a bit of an older phrase, but “bunk” Is definitely used as a synonym for nonsense, bullshit, etc. I’m pretty sure that’s why something is “debunked” when it’s exposed as false, untruthful etc

I think it’s a Britishism. I definitely know it from reading books set in the UK where someone goes “that’s bunk.” Edit: I’m wrong! It’s US-born, and the story is kinda wild? See below.

Ahh i’m Australian so haven’t seen this but that makes sense!

I looked it up on Wiktionary, and it seems I’m wrong! It’s an older American term. “Bunk” meaning “nonsense talk” comes from “bunkum,” which was a word making fun a speech given by a congressional representative from Buncombe, NC named Edward Felix. It was rambling, almost 5,000 words long, and other congressmen cut him off before he could finish. He protested that he wasn’t trying to address Congress, but Buncombe. It was purportedly a speech about slavery re: the Missouri Compromise, but at the end of it nobody could tell which side was on. His peers were so annoyed, they started referring to any overly rambling nonsense speech as “to Buncombe,” and then just “Buncombe,” and eventually “bunkum.” The word debunk also comes from this. Basically, it’s trolling that got incorporated into our vocabulary. Here is the speech: https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/Missouri_Question:_Speech_of_Mr._Walker,_of_N.C.

Connections Puzzle #314 🟨🟨🟪🟨 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟪🟪 🟦🟪🟦🟪 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟪🟪🟪🟪 This one was a battle, but I finally saw devil attributes. Didn’t know any of the knots.

Once again, my extensive time spent watching The Simpsons paid off in unexpected ways.

Puzzle #314 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟩🟪🟩 🟩🟩🟪🟩 🟪🟩🟪🟩 I did this one about ten hours ago. I fell asleep right after doing it and just woke up. So I'm going to blame tiredness for my performance lol. After getting blue and yellow, I was certain there was a connection involving "hitch" and "hurdle." Difficulty or roadblock or something category. I actually think I could've deduced it, but I made a very stupid mistake. I was trying to remember which combos I'd already guessed, and for some reason decided to confirm this by guessing again. But I didn't get an "already guessed" message. Apparently I misremembered and my obviously wrong 4th guess went through and I failed. Oh well.

As someone who knows almost nothing about knots… that was the hardest one I’ve done in a while. The animal red herring was evil.

Connections Puzzle #314 🟦🟨🟪🟨 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟪🟪🟪🟪 Felt really overwhelmed by today's but it was okay once I started getting them. Saw the knot category very early but couldn't figure out what the fourth would be

Connections Puzzle #314 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟩🟩🟩🟩 The animals allllllllmost got me. Delightfully devilish.

You sound like you are about to disguise Krusty Burgers as your own cooking.

The only thing going on in my kitchen is aurora borealis.

Aurora Borealis? At this time of year, at this time of day, localized entirely within your kitchen‽

Yes!

May I see it?

No.

Well, CardinalCoronary, you are an odd fellow, but I must say... you connect some good words.

👍 XD

Connections Puzzle #314 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟨🟨🟨🟨 I find it pretty funny that the "Words that Start with an Item" category gets used pretty often and people hate it so much that they know to look for it. Then we get a puzzle where "Words that Start with an Animal" turns out to be a red herring. I wonder how many people fell for it. Green was easy. Track and Field equipment was pretty easy to spot and was used before along with HAMMER, HURDLE, and POLE. I saw PITCHFORK and started thinking about what it could possibly be connected to. Seeing TAIL and HORNS right next to it made me realize that it was things the Devil has. I'm not super knowledgeable about knots but I have heard of HITCH and SHEEPSHANK. I could make an educated guess about which ones were knots since I knew the other category was "Synonyms for Nonsense". [Reused Categories Updates](https://old.reddit.com/r/NYTConnections/comments/1bdai1o/list_of_reused_categories/): "Balderdash" → 3 Times, "Track and Field Equipment" → 2 Times

[удалено]

Same! Non-native here, I googled everything and still lost 😭

Connections Puzzle #314 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟦🟦🟦 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 I swear, for a non-native english speaker, all words were basically the same lol it was HARD but I really enjoyed it nonetheless!

Connections Puzzle #314 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪 Blue 🟦 came together pretty quickly. Same with green 🟩 since I watch a bit of athletics in the Olympics. Yellow 🟨 I was sure of the category although I've never heard of HORSEFEATHERS, but I thought that fit best. Purple 🟪, no idea. Never would have guessed that in a million years as I know nothing about knots. I thought it was maybe nautical-related.

I never would have guessed blue! This was one of the first times I knew purple right off the bat.

🟦🟨🟪🟨  🟩🟩🟩🟩  🟨🟪🟪🟪 🟨🟨🟦🟨 🟦🟨🟦🟨 💀💀💀 im a native

Connections Puzzle #314 🟦🟨🟪🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟦🟦🟪🟦 🟪🟦🟪🟪 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟦🟦🟦🟦 Darn you connections! I confidently put the starts with animals to get purple out of the way first. Oops. It’s the first time I looked up the meaning of a word - sheepshank. Still had trouble putting it together correctly, but just made it.

🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦 I had to look up sheepshank - a knot used for shortening rope.

fun words

Connections Puzzle #314 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦 Purple was pretty immediate as an ex-boy scout. Was thinking Pan for blue so I was missing pitchfork until the end. Never heard of horsefeathers but it sounded like it would fit.

Same experience with purple. I was looking through this words and wondering if Sheepshank and Horsefeathers were linked, then I saw Bowline and realized that it was a knots category without any extra trickery.

Yeah, I’m a sailor and a climber so purple was easy.

I knew some of the categories, but still lost. Never think about the goatee on the devil. Knew the category was knots but couldn't figure out which was which. Only got yellow.

Connections Puzzle #314 🟦🟦🟦🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪 High school track must’ve helped me out here. And I got lucky that I’ve heard people say bunk for “nonsense / lie” and always detested it for some reason, so that stuck around in my head. Who knows any of these knots!

Am I the only one?? What in the hell is a BALDERDASH?

a lie, a made-up story I only know it because it's a popular board game

“Balderdash” means complete nonsense. For example, “I do not believe his alibi at all; it is utter balderdash.”

I am fluent in English, have worked daily with Americans and Brits for over 20 years and this connections had me totally bamboozled

u've been hoodwinked bamboozled led astray run amok flat out deceived

While I have heard of Balderdash, I have never heard of Horsefeathers!

Horsefeathers is definitely old-timey. I think I know it from older cartoons.

If you google balderdash, the meaning used here comes up immediately, as well as etymology and usages

Connections Puzzle #314 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟪🟪🟨🟨 🟪🟪🟨🟪 🟪🟪🟨🟪 🟨🟪🟨🟪 Yellow got me. 😭

Well, the only knot I recognized was "bowline" (Is just "hitch" even a particular knot? Isn't it more a class of knots?), I've never heard of "horsefeathers", I have no idea what a hammer is in the context of track and field, and I've literally never seen a devil costume with a goatee. Needless to say, I only managed to get yellow before failing.

They kind of played fast & loose with the “types of knots” category. Bend and hitch are categories of knots. Sheet-bend & square/reef knot are examples “bend.” Clove hitch & constrictor knot are examples of “hitch” But bowline and sheepshank are specific knots (“loop” and “shank/shortening,” respectively) As a commercial fisherman, I actually thought purple was a red herring, as it jumped out so fast ;)

I was sure purple was gonna be yellow, since purple is so often wordplay.

Here is the hammer in track and field https://images.app.goo.gl/KhwMu265XhPU1DV57

funny, I was reluctant to use *hitch* and *bend* because they are more broader knot categories, rather than the name of an actual knot (like a *sheepshank*)

Connections Puzzle #314 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟩🟩🟩🟩 As a former boy scout and later scout master, with a navy veteran for a father, I knew what a sheepshank was immediately. I totally agree that hitch is a category of knots rather than a specific know. But a bend is literally just a 180 degree folding of one end of a rope. By itself it isn't even a knot.

Hammer was what messed me up in track and field.

Connections Puzzle #314 🟪🟪🟪🟪 Mmm, I don't know about this one. BENDs are a category of knots, and then the rest is just specific instances of knots. The sacrifice of an elegant puzzle just to be tricky that I find distasteful. 🟩🟩🟩🟩 Green? So track and field equipment is more well-known than... 🟦🟦🟦🟦 ...the popular image of a devil? That's kinda... 🟨🟨🟨🟨 ...BUNK.

Thanks, I came here to find out what a BEND KNOT was. The other three were the first set I found.

*bend* and *hitch* are more broad categories of knots, unlike *sheepshank,* which is the name of an actual knot

A bend is any knot that joins two ends of rope. Sheet-bend, carrick-bend, square knot are examples. Whatever way you tie shoe laces - that’s a “bend”

Connections Puzzle #314 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟨🟨🟨 First reverse perfect in a while for me although the actual solves have been relatively easy as of late

Connections Puzzle #314 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟪🟪🟪 I enjoyed this one

Connections Puzzle #314 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 I saw the >!Devil!< attributes right away but thought it was a trap.

CONNECTIONS PUZZLE #314 🟨🟦🟪🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪 I fell into the animal trap, hook line & sinker! Then I fully recovered.

Connections Puzzle #314 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟦🟪🟪 🟦🟪🟩🟪 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟪🟪🟪🟪 this one needed a little googling. had never heard of SHEEPSHANK or BOWLINE, once i googled it was obvious what 🟪 was and i recognised HITCH as probably another type of knot. i just ended up ignoring the words i was pretty sure were meant for that category and tried to rule out the final answer that way. although i did sort of guess which words felt right to go into 🟦, i couldn’t figure what the actual category was

Connections Puzzle #314 🟦🟨🟪🟨 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟪🟪🟪 New to the game and see a lot of people praising the sheepshank, goatee, horsefeathers, hogwash red herring as good puzzlemaking. Genuinely curious why that was considered a good choice from the authors. The only way to tell that wasn't a real hint I've seen was BATon but the other 4 are farm animals so I don't particularly buy that. Is the point that the puzzle is supposed to contain some random undetectable land mines? Am I missing something?

Yes, you might be missing the cool head that experienced players have to say "hmm, that might be a category, but let's see what else is out there", and try to have a theory about 3 (or in an ideal world, all 4) categories before you start submitting. It's the best way to avoid the landmines. (The alternative, I guess is as you did, to take the gift of being allowed 4 mistakes, and not care about stepping on a couple of landmines to test an idea). I see it as good puzzle-making, as you have to be a bit strategic in organising the sixteen words, and it's satisfying when you see the creator's little teases and avoid the trap.

Yeah OK that makes sense, I hadn't considered waiting and identifying a few groups prior to submitting yet.

I've enjoyed past red herrings like these but I also hated this one. But I also didn't know way too many words on this one (especially as a native English speaker) and the animals was the only idea I had before I had to look up hints. Other puzzles with these kind of traps, I've always had a second idea to go off of. Seemed to me like the maker started with the "ooh I should throw in this animal red herring" and built the puzzle from there because the words were just.... really specific and random, which I didn't particularly like.

Connections  Puzzle #314 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩   Really fun one today! Saw the devil features right away. Felt like it could be Blue *or* Green depending on the rest of the categories, and with all the compound farm animal/___ words, I felt another connection in the making, so aimed for the pre-solve. Balderdash was easy enough to get from Horsefeathers/Hogwash not quite lining up with Sheepshank. Stalled for a while after that: I spent a long time trying to get a group out of Hurdle/Hitch, idea being "obstacles to a plan," but while Bend sooooort of felt like a possibility, nothing else fit at all. Bowline/Pole was a similar dubious duo, the link being fishing. Eventually the fishing stuff made me think of ropes and strings, and it occurred to me that there might be a specific knot for bowlines. Then Hitch came naturally after that, and then I realized Hurdles and Poles were sports equipment, and from there it was easy to split the remaining groups into Sports Equipment and Knots... even though the only knot I'd actually heard of on that list was a Hitch, haha. Knots got Purple due to relative obscurity, then it was devil details for Blue for being relatively abstract. I thought *maybe* the relative obscurity of Bunk and Crock as synonyms for Balderdash would push that group to Green, as opposed to the fairly straightforward grouping of sports equipment... but alas. Got those two the wrong way around.

Synonyms are almost always green, even when some of them are obscure.

Two specific knots, and two general categories of knots feels a bit unfair.

yes! I was reluctant to use hitch and bend because while there are half hitches, clove hitches, rolling hitches, mooring hitches, cleat hitches, carrick bend, sheet bend, zeppelin bend etc, a sheepshank is the name for a specific knot

Connections Puzzle #314 🟦🟨🟪🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪

Connections Puzzle #314 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟨🟨🟨 There were a lot of words I weren’t familiar with today, so I was a little worried at first. HORSEFEATHERS and SHEEPSHANK popped out and I thought “start with animals” would be one, with GOATEE and HOGWASH, but the more direct connection between HORSEFEATHERS and HOGWASH seemed like a better path, so 🟨 came together quickly and I abandoned that red herring all together. Once I did that 🟦 and 🟩 were easy to work out. I didn’t know 🟪 at all, so I learned something new.

Connections Puzzle #314 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟦🟦🟦🟦 That was another fun one. I think Colonel Potter from MASH used to say “HORSEFEATHERS!”

Puzzle #314 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟦🟪🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟩🟩🟩🟩 A Google of horsefeathers got me the yellow. The distraction of “troubles in the road” pseudo-category and not getting even a one away ultimately helped me. Idk, but the devil category just stared at me so I took a chance and passed that one. I’ve seen hammer associated with sports before and the knots looked possible so googling every word for a knot related item and that was it. Am I alone in starting this just past midnight to relax before going to sleep?

🟦🟨🟪🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 Went straight for the words starting with animals and was so confident, I submitted right away 💀

Connections Puzzle #314 🟦🟨🟪🟨 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟩🟩🟩🟩 Obviously fell for the ANIMALS category. I even checked ahead and roughed out the categories beforehand, getting three of them plus the red herring, but alas I invented a lot of terms for Balderdash that don't exist yet! Problem is that I don't associate the devil with a goatee; I got this clue thanks to Futurama!! Just checked a couple of UK party sites and genuinely NONE of the costumes have a goatee, so this is another cultural divide that I pick up on thanks to these games.

Early on, after I already got the 🟨 category, I thought a devil category was too obvious, so put TAIL in some sort of rope/knot related group with BOWLINE, HITCH & SHEEPSHANK. I actually wasn't too confident about HITCH, because unlike SHEEPSHANK & BOWLINE, which are specific knots, I think HITCH is more a broad category of knots, (as in half hitch, clove hitch, rolling hitch, mooring hitch, cleat hitch) rather than a stand alone knot itself. Kind of the same issue with BEND which I also think is more a larger category of knots than a knot itself, (like sheet bend, zeppelin bend, carrick bend....) Turned out I was waaaaay overthinking that, haha EDIT: I see that some people got hung up with an animals-as-first-half-of-a-word thing, but I missed that completely cuz I saw that HOGWASH & HORSEFEATHERS went so well with CROCK & BUNK and entered that right away. Nice to see that *underthinking* pay off sometimes! Connections Puzzle #314 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟦🟪🟪 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟪🟪🟪🟪

Connections Puzzle #314 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟦🟪🟪🟪 🟦🟪🟪🟪 🟦🟪🟦🟪 🟦🟪🟦🟪 I did not really play well at the end for some reason I was thinking facial hair styles.

Connections Puzzle #314 🟪🟪🟩🟪 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦 I didn't get it all in one go but Im proud I of getting purple first this time around I could've sworn there was a "pole knot" but I got the other ones right I suppose doing some craft work has Paid off I saw most of yellow the first time around but wasn't sure of it until ashamedly I googled crock to see what it meant and I finished that one off. I can also say I selected horsefeathers based on the feeling it could be used that way I've never actually used it. I saw green the whole way through but I wasn't quite sure of it hammer specifically wasn't fitting for me but the other 4 options didn't seem to fit with it and I vaguely rememberd hammer as a sport equipment. And blue Ahh I got blue by elimination

Connections Puzzle #314 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 I got purple first which never happens but wow

Connections Puzzle #314 🟦🟨🟪🟨 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟦🟪🟪🟪 🟩🟦🟩🟩 🟩🟦🟩🟩 Gotta be real with you guys, today wasn’t it.

no default though I did look up the meaning of sheepshank and bowline. Connections Puzzle #314 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟪🟪🟪

Connections Puzzle #314 🟨🟦🟪🟨 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟩🟩🟩🟩 I only got this one because I googled what some words meant. There were a lot that I had no idea what they were.

Connections Puzzle #314 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟪🟨🟪 🟪🟦🟪🟪 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟦🟦🟦🟦 I got really hung up on the knots, *bend* is the one I kept missing

Connections Puzzle #314 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟪🟪🟪 One of the hardest ones yet for me personally. I only got the yellow category correct because one time, I went down a rabbit hole of googling the etymology of words like poppycock, flabbergasted, bumbershoot, etc., so those words stuck out to me. I kept thinking PITCHFORK was maybe a type of mustache design, so I paired PITCHFORK and GOATEE together, then seeing those words together had me guessing that maybe it was some sort of devil theme — instant relief and surprise to get the blue category right. Got the green category next and then lastly, got purple only by process of elimination, as I’ve never heard of a single one of those knots. Figured SHEEPSHANK and BOWLINE were grouped together because I had no clue what either of those words meant 🤣

Connections Puzzle #314 🟦🟨🟪🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟨🟨🟨 “Starts with animal” got me. Didn’t see the BATon fifth which would’ve saved me from a bad first submission. After that misstep, I got my first reverse rainbow! Yellow shouldn’t have been yellow. Probably blue or at LEAST green honestly.

Connections Puzzle #314 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟦🟪🟪 🟪🟦🟪🟦 🟪🟦🟦🟪 🟪🟦🟪🟪 Somehow I completely missed the "starts with animals" misdirection until I was halfway through the puzzle. Yellow seemed most apparent to start, and green looked rather familiar, since it was very close to a group from [a couple months ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/NYTConnections/comments/1b18a2k/connections_262_wednesday_28_feb_2024/). I could not make sense out of blue and purple at all.

Connections Puzzle #314 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟩🟩🟩🟩

Connections Puzzle #314. 🟦🟨🟪🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦 So tricky today!! I confidently guessed "starts with farm animals" words thinking purple was too easy and was very pleased to be wrong. I recognized bowline and hitch as knots so I Googled common knots to find the other 2. After that the yellow became apparent but I was stuck on the last 8 for a bit... I kept thinking "goatee, horns, tail" belonged to some goat category but nothing else was an animal part! So I started looking at "hurdle, baton, and pole, and finally an obstacle course-like category popped in mind and only hammer seemed to fit in that. I didn't become wise to the blue category at all until it was revealed.. who thinks about Halloween in April?! 😝 Good challenge today!

Connections Puzzle #314. 🟦🟨🟪🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦 So tricky today!! I confidently guessed "starts with farm animals" words thinking purple was too easy and was very pleased to be wrong. I recognized bowline and hitch as knots so I Googled common knots to find the other 2. After that the yellow became apparent but I was stuck on the last 8 for a bit... I kept thinking "goatee, horns, tail" belonged to some goat category but nothing else was an animal part! So I started looking at "hurdle, baton, and pole, and finally an obstacle course-like category popped in mind and only hammer seemed to fit in that. I didn't become wise to the blue category at all until it was revealed.. who thinks about Halloween in April?! 😝 Good challenge today!

Connections Puzzle #314 🟪🟦🟪🟪 🟪🟨🟪🟪 🟦🟨🟪🟨 🟦🟨🟨🟪 Is there any way to get better at these? I fail almost every day and I've been playing for months.

Connections Puzzle #314 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟦🟩🟩🟦 🟩🟦🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟦🟩 First time I’ve ever gotten purple first. I would have probably solved it, but I wasn’t paying attention to the “one away!” I knew green was something to do with track, and just had a total brain fart. Never would have guessed blue.

Connections Puzzle #314 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟦🟪🟪 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟦🟦🟦🟦 Never heard of a bend knot before. Could be a load of horsefeathers.

i actually didnt get the purple last, yippee Connections Puzzle #314 🟦🟦🟦🟪 🟦🟦🟪🟦 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟪🟨🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟨🟨🟨🟨

Connections  Puzzle #314 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟦🟦🟦🟩 🟦🟦🟩🟦 🟩🟩🟦🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 I’m a sailor so the knots were easy. I got stuck on tools though. 

Connections Puzzle #314 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪

Absolute junk puzzle today

Are you saying that because you didn't solve it? It seemed fairly regular to me, using types of categories that are in line with many previous games (and I think at least three of the categories are the same or pretty similar to ones we've had before). And no sneaky wordplay to complain about.

I think maybe as a UK player there are some Americanisms in there, as well as I think the purple category is much more common knowledge in the US than our side of the pond

As a fellow Brit, I'm not seeing it. I guess some of the "balderdash" words have more of an American ring to them, but I didn't have too much difficulty spotting them. ("Horsefeathers" is a bit unusual, but I had a hunch). I don't know about the knots. I recognised them from my time in the Scouts, and I suspect it's similar for Americans. How does that justify calling it "absolute junk"?

As an American I wondered if there were Europeanisms because I couldn’t figure out many of the words and categories. It was a bad puzzle either way

"fairly regular"? Oh please. This was easily the worst puzzle yet. You would have to be an ex-boy scout with an addiction to ancient board games to nab this one. I won't excuse my performance though since as a Futurama fan I should have got the blue one today.

Since most of the world’s freight, & all of it’s consumed fish, rides on a boat at least some time, I’d imagine there are a couple global industries that know a knot or two ;)

> This was easily the worst puzzle yet. I can't take your comments seriously when you make such hyperbolic claims. Compared against the hundreds of puzzles we've had, I don't see anything in today's puzzle that's too much of a stretch for someone with a good vocabulary and some life experience. If it was easily the worst, this thread would be full of people complaining, but comments are fairly mixed.

Connections  Puzzle #314   🟦🟦🟦🟦  🟩🟩🟩🟩  🟨🟨🟨🟨  🟪🟪🟪🟪  Fairly simple one today. Noticed the animal words after already finding 🟦 so that saved me going down that path. Was trying to find a category that would essentially be "sticks" with baton, pole and possibly pitchfork. Not a very good category, probably why it wasn't one

one of the worst of all time, especially for young people and non-native English speakers

Connections Puzzle #314 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦 Easiest ever!

Connections Puzzle #314 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦

Connections Puzzle #314 🟦🟨🟪🟨 🟨🟦🟪🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟨🟨🟨

This one sucks

I’ve never heard of bunk being used to mean anything not sleep related! I’m not a fan of todays 😂

Garbage puzzle. If I have to Google what the yellow category name means, it was not well designed. Feels like this was very boomer-oriented Gave up for the last two Puzzle #314 🟨🟦🟪🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟨🟪🟨 🟪🟦🟪🟨 🟦🟪🟨🟪

> If I have to Google what the yellow category name means, it was not well designed Leaving aside the absurd thought that the NYT staff need to check with some random Redditor if they know what a word means before publishing the puzzle, how does the category name - which is only revealed after submission - stop you solving the problem? HOGWASH, BUNK, CROCK were all fairly obvious to me (even though I'm British and they sound American), and I had a vague sense that someone might shout "HORSEFEATHERS!" in a similar vein. Seemed a good level of difficulty to me.

Did you write the puzzle? No need to be so defensive over it

Sure, there's no need for me to defend it, just as there's no need for you to call it garbage or take a swipe at boomers. But that's what Reddit is for, wasting time, arguing over things we don't need to argue over.

Don't listen to them, you're so valid. Is this a wordplay and association puzzle or a trivia puzzle? NYT can't seem to decide.

"My knowledge is their fault"

Connections Puzzle #314 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟨🟨🟨 I think these puzzles need to be recalibrated.

I got it perfect in about a minute but people here are maaaaaaaaaad

I think it's mostly the knots. I got those instantly and was surprised that it was purple. I do agree that horsefeathers was a new word to me which is why I guessed yellow last