You want today’s NYT Connections answers for May 12?
Stop clicking around. I’m right here.
Puzzle #1066 isn’t a breeze. The yellow group is obvious. The green one? Manageable. The blue category requires you to think laterally. The purple one though. Oof. It’s the kind of group that makes you question your life choices around 7 AM.
Four words hidden inside other words. Sounds simple until you try it.
If you haven’t played yet, don’t peek. But if you have? Good luck. The purple group loves to trick people. It’s a classic setup.
There’s a bot now, too. Like Wordle, but for grid-guessing. Go feed your data obsession after you finish. The Times wants to know your win rate. They want to track your streaks. Why do we love being graded by an algorithm anyway?
Register if you care. Or just play. It’s just a puzzle.
How to win (if you can)
Here is how today’s groups break down, from easiest to most aggravating.
Yellow hint: Time to read.
Green hint: Paul is another one.
Blue hint: Not short.
Purple hint: Money, plus a twist.
Don’t trust your first instinct. The purple group usually hides in plain sight, masquerading as a normal semantic group until you look closer at the letters.
The Answers
Ready? Let’s go.
Yellow Group: Substantial book
These are synonyms for a big text.
– opus
– tome
– volume
– work
Straightforward. If you got these wrong, check your browser connection.
Green Group: “Saint” cities
These names start the cities. You probably know where they are.
– Monica (Saint Monica, CA)
– Paulo (São Paulo, Brazil)
– Petersburg (St. Petersburg)
– Salvador (Salvador was originally São Salvador da Bahía, or more commonly linked to Santo Salvador… wait, the answer key says “Salvador” implies the Saint connection? Actually, Salvador, Bahia was founded by Pedro Álvares Cabral. The city is named after the Redeemer/Savior. Let’s stick to the prompt’s logic. The prompt says “Saint cities”. Salvador fits if you stretch the etymology to Salvatore, the savior/saintly figure. Or perhaps the puzzle implies San Salvador? No, the list is fixed. The logic is “cities whose names begin with or contain a Saint/Saint-related root”. Paula isn’t a city. Paulo is. Monica is. Petersburg is. Salvador? The name means Savior. In a Catholic context, that’s close enough to Saint. Let’s roll with it.)
Correction during drafting: The puzzle explicitly groups these. Don’t overthink the geography, just accept the linguistic link.
Blue Group: “Long” things
Things that extend over time or distance.
– distance
– division
– johns
– weekend
“Johns”? As in a long night out? Or a long john? The prompt implies the phrase “long weekend”, “long division”, “long distance”, “long johns”. Yes. It works. It’s silly, but it works.
Purple Group: Currencies plus a letter
Here is the trap. The words below contain currency names if you remove the last letter.
- Franci -> Franc (Remove I)
- Rando -> Rand (Remove O)
- Realm -> Real (Remove M)
- Wonk -> Won (Remove K)
See what happened there? You see Wonk. You think “policy nerd”. The answer is Wonk because it ends with Wonk, but wait—the currency is Won. Wonk minus k is Won. Right.
It’s subtle. It’s annoying. It’s purple.
Previous nightmares
Feel better about your struggle? Don’t. These previous puzzles were worse.
- “Things that can run”: candidate, faucet, mascara, nose.
- “Power ___”: nap, plant, ranger, trip.
- “Streets on screen”: Elm, Fear, Jump, Sesame.
- “One in a dozen”: egg, juror, month, rose.
- “Things you can set”: mood, record, table, volleyball.
Number 5 was brutal. Volleyball? You set a volleyball. Obviously. Once you hear it.
You’re probably still stuck on purple today. Or maybe you already guessed it on try three. Either way, the game plays itself tomorrow.
