NYT Connections Answers (February 24): Can You Solve Puzzle #988? Check Hints, & Solution

NYT Connections Answer: The New York Times’ daily word game, Connections, is back with its Tuesday, February 24 puzzle, and today’s grid takes you on a wild ride. At first glance, the words look totally unrelated. One moment you feel like you’re in a science class, then suddenly you’re thinking about Scotland, and before you know it, you’re naming famous writers. That’s the magic of Connections. It looks simple, but it can twist your brain in seconds.

As always, players must sort 16 words into four hidden groups. Each group shares something in common. Some links are easy to spot. Others take a bit more thinking. If today’s puzzle left you confused, here’s everything you need, from gentle hints to the full solution.

What Is Connections And How Do You Play?

Connections is a daily word puzzle from The New York Times. You get 16 words. Your job is to sort them into four groups of four. Each group shares a theme.

But here’s the tricky part. Some words look like they belong together, but they don’t. These are called red herrings. They are placed there to confuse you.

For example, “Hook,” “Nana,” “Peter,” and “Wendy” all belong to the Peter Pan characters. Another example is “Action,” “Ballpark,” “Go,” and “Stick,” which all go before the word “Figure.”

You only get four wrong guesses. If you make four mistakes, the game ends, and the answers are shown.

Each group also has a colour based on difficulty:

• Yellow (easiest)
• Green (easy)
• Blue (medium)
• Purple (hardest)

Some days feel simple. Other days, like today, make you jump from topic to topic before it finally clicks.

Hints And Full Solution To NYT Connections (February 24)

Here are today’s hints:

• Yellow: Found under the sea and under your skin.
• Green: Icons of Merida.
• Blue: The men behind the curtain.
• Purple: One word completes them all.

Extra hints:

• All but one group is based on real-world categories; one is more playful.
• Each group has at least one word containing the letter “A”.

One word from each group to help you further:

• Yellow: Coral
• Green: Tartan
• Blue: Coward
• Purple: Jim

If you’re ready for the full breakdown, here it is.

Full Solution for February 24:

• Yellow (Calcium-based Structures): Bones, Coral, Shells, Teeth
• Green (Symbols of Scotland): Bagpipes, Scottie, Tartan, Thistle
• Blue (Famous Playwrights): Chekhov, Coward, Miller, Shaw
• Purple (___ Beam): Balance, Jim, Laser, Tractor

This puzzle really jumps around. At first, it feels like a science lesson with bones, coral, shells, and teeth. Then suddenly you’re thinking about Scotland with bagpipes, tartan, thistle, and Scottie. After that, it feels like an English class with Chekhov, Shaw, Miller, and Coward.

The purple group is the playful one. Each word can come before “Beam.” Think balance beam, laser beam, tractor beam, and Jim Beam. That clever wordplay is what makes Connections so fun.

Today’s grid was not the hardest ever, but it definitely made players stop and think. If you solved it without mistakes, well done. If not, there’s always tomorrow’s puzzle waiting.