The rubber meets the road in today’s Connections puzzle No. 607 for Feb. 7.
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of “Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the ’70s and ’80s,” as well as “The Totally Sweet ’90s.” She’s been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She’s Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she’ll be first in line.
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Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won “Headline Writer of the Year” award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism. Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.
Today’s Connections puzzle is fun — and colorful. I got a kick out of the blue and purple categories, especially. It helps to have some knowledge of a certain Disney movie. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.
The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. And players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.
Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time
Hints for today’s Connections groupsHere are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest, yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: The boss does this.
Green group hint: Some gloves are made of this.
Blue group hint: Robin Williams’ voice-acting role.
Purple group hint: Not blue, but…
Answers for today’s Connections groupsYellow group: Be in charge of
Green group: Things made of rubber
Blue group: Associated with the Genie in “Aladdin”
Purple group: Red ____
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections answers?The yellow words in today’s ConnectionsThe theme is be in charge of. The four answers are direct, head, lead and run.
The green words in today’s ConnectionsThe theme is things made of rubber. The four answers are balloon, eraser, galosh and tire.
The blue words in today’s ConnectionsThe theme is associated with the Genie in “Aladdin”. The four answers are blue, earring, lamp and wishes.
The purple words in today’s ConnectionsThe theme is red ____. The four answers are bull, cross, herring and velvet.
Quick tips for Connections#1: Say the clue words out loud, pausing before and after each. That helps you hear the words in the context of a phrase. The Connections editors love to group words together that are used in similar phrasing, like ____ Up.
#2: Don’t go for the obvious grouping. These editors are smart. Once, they offered SPONGE, BOB, SQUARE and PANTS in the same puzzle. None of those words were in the same category. If you like, hit the “shuffle” button to give yourself a different perspective on the words.
#3: Break down any compound words and look for similarities. “Rushmore” was once in a puzzle where the connection was that each word started with the name of a rock band.
