**Connections: The New York Times Word Game that Everyone is Buzzing About**
*Connections* has swiftly emerged as one of the most adored word games from *The New York Times*, enchanting players with its distinctive challenge of uncovering “common threads between words.” Similar to the viral sensation *Wordle*, *Connections* refreshes each day at midnight, presenting a new puzzle that becomes progressively tougher. If you’re finding today’s puzzle tricky, we have hints and advice to assist you—or you can jump to the conclusion of this article for the solution.
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### What is *Connections*?
The *New York Times*’ newest daily word game has taken the social media world by surprise. Developed with the assistance of associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu, *Connections* is a notable addition to the *Times*’ Games section. Accessible on both web browsers and mobile devices, the game challenges participants to group four words that are related by a common theme.
Each puzzle is made up of 16 words, which need to be categorized into four separate groups. These categories can range from titles of books to names of software, countries, and beyond. While several words may appear to combine, there is only one correct solution for each set.
Here’s the process: when you accurately pick a set of four connected words, they are removed from the board. Conversely, guessing incorrectly counts as a mistake. Players are permitted a maximum of four mistakes before the game concludes. To assist you further, you can shuffle the board to identify connections more easily. Each category is color-coded by difficulty: yellow is the simplest, followed by green, blue, and purple. And just like in *Wordle*, you can share your results with friends on social platforms.
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### Tips for Today’s *Connections* Puzzle
Need a bit of help to begin? Here are some category hints for today’s puzzle:
– **Yellow:** Safeguarding items for future use
– **Green:** Utilized for smoothing surfaces
– **Blue:** Language related to wagering
– **Purple:** Gourmet food descriptors
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### Today’s *Connections* Categories
If you need more precise direction, here are the categories for today:
– **Yellow:** Preserve
– **Green:** Smoothing Through Friction
– **Blue:** Gambling Terminology in Sports
– **Purple:** Terms Preceding “Fingers”
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### The Solution to Today’s *Connections* Puzzle
Prepared for the answers? Here’s the solution for today’s *Connections* #604:
– **Preserve:** KEEP, PRESERVE, SAVE, STORE
– **Smoothing Through Friction:** BUFF, FILE, GRIND, SAND
– **Gambling Terminology in Sports:** FAVORITE, PARLAY, SPREAD, UNDER
– **Terms Preceding “Fingers”:** BUTTER, CHICKEN, LADY, STICKY
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Do not fret if you didn’t solve today’s puzzle—there’s always the next day! A new *Connections* puzzle awaits every day, and we’ll return with additional hints and answers to support you.
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### Looking for More Games?
If you enjoy puzzles, visit *Mashable*’s games hub for even more excitement. From Mahjong and Sudoku to free crosswords, there’s something for everyone. And if you’re playing *Wordle* or *Strands*, we have hints and solutions for those as well!
– [Play games on Mashable](https://games.mashable.com/)
– [Today’s *Wordle* answer](https://mashable.com/article/wordle-today-answer-february-4-2025)
– [Hints and answers for *Strands*](https://mashable.com/article/strands-nyt-hint-february-3-2025)
Missed yesterday’s *Connections*? [Here’s the solution.](https://mashable.com/article/nyt-connections-sports-edition-hint-answer-today-february-4)
Enjoy your puzzling!