Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers for Dec. 26, #564

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 and Strands puzzles.

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The New York Times Connections puzzle had some easy categories today, especially the green group, I thought. And even though the purple group is supposed to be tricky, I’m kind of fascinated with its topic. I bet it shows up in another puzzle someday. Read on for today’s Connections hints and answers.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

How to play Connections

Playing is easy. Winning is hard. Look at the 16 words and mentally assign them to related groups of four. Click on the four words you think go together. The groups are coded by color, though you don’t know what goes where until you see the answers. The yellow group is the easiest, then green, then blue, and purple is the toughest. Look at the words carefully and think about related terms. Sometimes the connection has to do with just a part of the word. Once, four words were grouped because each started with the name of a rock band, including “Rushmore” and “Journeyman.”

Read more: New NYT Connections Game for Sports Fans Lets Players Swing for the Fences

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here 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: Almost.

Green group hint: Oak or elm.

Blue group hint: Substantial.

Purple group hint: Minn. and Wash. are among them.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Approximately.

Green group: Trees.

Blue group: Sizable, as an amount.

Purple group US state abbreviations, per AP style guide.

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 Connections

The theme is approximately. The four answers are about, around, like and roughly.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is trees. The four answers are elder, palm, pine and spruce.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is sizable, as an amount. The four answers are handsome, healthy, respectable and tidy.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is US state abbreviations, per AP style guide. The four answers are ALA, ARK, MISS and ORE.