NYT Connections hints and answers for Sunday, July 27 (game #777)

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #777) - today's words

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• HALLOWEEN
• PICNIC
• EASY
• GRADE
• CHILD'S PLAY
• ELEMENTARY
• CON GAME
• TAILGATE
• GRAMMAR
• MAGIC SHOW
• BLOCK PARTY
• PIECE OF CAKE
• FESTIVAL
• NO SWEAT
• PRIMARY
• HEARTS

NYT Connections today (game #777) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: Not a problem
• GREEN: Al fresco fun
• BLUE: Followed by a word that rhymes with “fool”
• PURPLE: Who’s fooling who?

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #777) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: "NOTHING TO IT!" 
• GREEN: OUTDOOR EVENTS 
• BLUE: WORDS BEFORE "SCHOOL" 
• PURPLE: ASSOCIATED WITH TRICKS 

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #777) - the answers

The answers to today's Connections, game #777, are…

• YELLOW: "NOTHING TO IT!" CHILD'S PLAY, EASY, NO SWEAT, PIECE OF CAKE
• GREEN: OUTDOOR EVENTS BLOCK PARTY, FESTIVAL, PICNIC, TAILGATE
• BLUE: WORDS BEFORE "SCHOOL" ELEMENTARY, GRADE, GRAMMAR, PRIMARY
• PURPLE: ASSOCIATED WITH TRICKS CON GAME, HALLOWEEN, HEARTS, MAGIC SHOW

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• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 mistake

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My one mistake today was putting ELEMENTARY instead of EASY in the group that became “NOTHING TO IT!”, something that wouldn’t have happened if I’d have looked at the board longer, rather than rushing in.

I had the quote “elementary, my dear Watson” in my head, of course – although in this case it was far from, erm, elementary (and although it's actually a misquote anyway, and never appears in the original Sherlock Holmes stories).

Instead, Elementary was part of the WORDS BEFORE ”SCHOOL” group, together with the less common (depending on where you are) alternatives of PRIMARY, GRADE and GRAMMAR. All in all, no PICNIC.

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Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Saturday, July 26, game #776)

• YELLOW: HERBS AND SPICES ANISE, DILL, MACE, SAGE
• GREEN: SHADES OF GREEN BOTTLE, HUNTER, KELLY, PEA
• BLUE: TRAVEL ON FOOT HIKE, MARCH, TRAMP, TREK
• PURPLE: STARTS OF EUROPEAN CAPITALS COPE, LUXE, SARA, WARS

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What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.