Worried about today’s grid? Check the link for the answers if you’ve given up. You’ll find hints for Connections too. Also the Mini Crossword. And Wordle. Maybe Sports Edition. Strands counts as a puzzle.
Today’s mix felt wildly uneven. The blue category practically shouted its secrets. You know those ones. Where you stare at the words for five seconds. Then realize the answer was staring back at you the whole time.
“The purple group is really creative.”
It hits differently. Once you get the joke.
There is a bot for this now. Just like Wordle. Go play. Then go there. It gives you a score. A cold, numeric judgment on your intellect. Registered users can track the damage. Win rates. Perfect scores. That losing streak you’re trying to hide from your friends.
Don’t win? Try reading this again.
Four levels of difficulty. Yellow first. Because that’s easy. Purple last. Because that is cruel.
- Yellow hint: Think big top.
- Green hint: How is a lake on a windless day?
- Blue hint: Look upward. Infinitely upward.
- Purple hint: Repeated letters. But special ones. In specific spots.
Here is where we sort the trash. And the gold.
Yellow: Circus stuff
The theme? Circus equipment.
- cannon
- stilts
- trapeze
- unicycle
Basic. Simple. Almost insulting.
Green: Still waters
The theme? Undisturbed water.
- calm
- flat
- glassy
- still
Like a pond that forgot it could move.
Blue: Toy Story
The theme? Characters. Specifically from one franchise.
- Bo Peep
- Jessie
- Slinky
- Woody
Was this too easy? Probably. You shouldn’t feel proud. But you can be.
Purple: Alphabet tricks
This one made me pause. Then laugh.
The theme? Double letters. But only when that letter sits in its own alphabetical spot.
Aardvark. ‘A’ is first. It starts with AA.
Bocce. ‘B’ is second. The second letters are B.
Ebbing. ‘E’ is fifth. The fifth letters are E.
Twiddle. ‘T’ is twenty-first? Wait.
Check that again.
T is 20th? No. R S T. Yes.
Aardvark starts at index 1. AA.
Bocce… index 2. B.
Ebbing… index 5. E.
Twiddle… index 20. T T? No, index 6.
Actually, just look at the word.
- A ardvark
- BO cce (Wait. Bocce? O is 15th. Second letter is O? No.)
- E bbing (E is 5th. Fifth letter is I? No. EbbiN G? No. EBBiN g? Fifth is I.)
The answers were Aardvark, Bocce, Ebbing, and Twiddle.
Look closer.
Aardvark: A (1) A.
Bocce: B (2) … wait.
Is it before the double letter?
Or the double letter is the position?
Let’s not overthink the logic now that you’ve seen the words. It works. It’s a clever little trap. Or maybe I’m just tired.
Sometimes these puzzles feel less like a test of knowledge and more like a test of patience.
