Today’s NYT Connections hint & answers #988: clues for February 23
Clues and hints to help you solve puzzle #988
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If today’s NYT Connections puzzle is giving you trouble, you’re not alone. With 16 words on the board and only four mistakes allowed, it’s easy to get distracted by overlapping themes before the correct groupings fall into place. Below, you’ll find a set of hints to guide you in the right direction, and if you’d rather skip straight to the answers, the full solution is further down the page.
This guide covers NYT Connections puzzle #988, released on Monday, February 23.
Hints for today’s Connections groups
Here are four clues to help steer you toward the correct categories. They’re ordered from the easiest group to the toughest:
- 🟨 hint: Eat very quickly
- 🟩 hint: Shaped like a traffic ___
- 🟦 hint: To fake or pretend
- 🟪 hint: Traditional places or occasions for a kiss
If you’d like an extra nudge, here’s one word from each group:
- 🟨: BOLT
- 🟩: CHRISTMAS TREE
- 🟦: BLUFF
- 🟪: BLARNEY STONE
Today’s Connections answers (February 23)
If you’re ready for the full solution, here it is:
- 🟨 Eat voraciously: BOLT, GORGE, INHALE, SCARF
- 🟩 Conical things: CHRISTMAS TREE, CONE, PARTY HAT, VOLCANO
- 🟦 Pose: BLUFF, FRONT, MASQUERADE, POSTURE
- 🟪 Settings for a kiss: BLARNEY STONE, MISTLETOE, NEW YEAR’S EVE, WEDDING
Today’s board was on the easier side once you locked in the yellow and green groups. The blue category relied on synonyms related to pretending, while the purple group required recognizing classic romantic or celebratory contexts rather than direct definitions.
Can Connections get harder?
Connections doesn’t steadily increase in difficulty, but the style of wordplay varies from day to day. Some puzzles lean heavily on synonyms, while others focus on cultural references or clever phrasing.
Often, once you solve one or two groups, the remaining words become much easier to sort. Just remember, you can only make four mistakes before the puzzle ends, so it’s worth double-checking uncertain links before committing to a guess.
