Note: Make sure to complete today's NYT Connections before reading further! We'll be getting into spoilers for today's game pretty quickly. If you need some help to complete the grid, you can find my NYT Connections hints and answers column for today via my author page.
Hey there, Connectors! Welcome to my deeper dive into today's NYT Connections answers. The idea behind this is to help clear things up for anyone who isn't sure how today's groups fit together.
I'm going to assume that a) you know how to play NYT Connections and b) you've already beaten today's game. If I've missed any red herrings or misunderstood something, let me know via email or on Discord. I don't typically look at X or check the comments here.
We're going straight into spoiler territory here. So, consider this your one and only warning.
Here are today's NYT Connections answers explained (and any red herrings I spot) for Monday, February 23:
Today's NYT Connections Answers Explained
Connections - Yellow Group
🟨 Yellow group -- eat voraciously (BOLT, GORGE, INHALE, SCARF)
The category title takes care of this one. It means to eat very quickly.
Connections - Green Group
🟩 Green group -- conical things (CHRISTMAS TREE, CONE, PARTY HAT, VOLCANO)
Not much ambiguity here. Thanks again, category title! I do think it's a little cheap in conclude CONE in a group of conical things, though.
Connections - Blue Group
🟦 Blue group -- pose (BLUFF, FRONT, MASQUERADE, POSTURE)
I don't think the category title quite captures this one clearly. It means to give yourself a facade, perhaps lying about yourself so that others might hold you in higher esteem. (This is totally okay to do in job interviews, at least to a certain extent. I endorse that.)
Connections - Purple Group
🟪 Purple group -- settings for a kiss (BLARNEY STONE, MISTLETOE, NEW YEAR'S EVE, WEDDING)
Okay, here's where things get a bit interesting today. Traditionally, people kiss under MISTLETOE that's dangling from the ceiling or positioned somewhere else that's high up. This most commonly takes place around the holidays.
People often kiss at midnight on NEW YEAR'S EVE (well, technically on New Year's Day) to celebrate the arbitrary passage of time into a new calendar year. At a WEDDING, the officiant will typically urge the newlyweds to kiss each other at the end of the ceremony.
BLARNEY STONE is a fun one. I love that tradition. This is a stone that's built into Blarney Castle in Ireland. According to legend, if one kisses the BLARNEY STONE, they receive the "gift of the gab," which is the ability to talk eloquently, flatteringly and/or glibly, often in a humorous way.
Actually kissing the stone is tricky, though, since you have to get to the top of the castle and lean backwards over the edge of the parapet. There are some protective measures in place, including an assistant to hold onto you, but it sounds pretty scary to me!
Connections - Red Herrings
MISTLETOE, NEW YEAR'S EVE, CHRISTMAS TREE and PARTY HAT made for a decent red herring of things that are associated with the holidays.
MASQUERADE (ball) could have gone with WEDDING and NEW YEAR'S EVE as part of a group of social events.
If you'd like to chat about today's game of NYT Connections with a group of exceptionally cool and lovely people and also me, you can do just that in our Discord community. We'd love to have you join us.
I'll be back with another set of NYT Connections hints and answers tomorrow, as well as another edition of this one, all going well. You'll be able to find both of those on my Forbes author page when the time comes (following me there helps me out too!). As for the weekend editions of my NYT Connections hints and answers column, I'm currently doing that via my newsletter, Pastimes.