Today’s NYT Connections Answers Explained

Connections – Yellow Group

🟨 kinds of pies (CHESS, PECAN, PUMPKIN, SHOOFLY)

PECAN and PUMPKIN pies are fairly self-explanatory.

It’s possible – even likely – that you have everything on hand to make a CHESS pie already. This staple of Southern U.S. cuisine has a custardy filling that’s traditionally made with flour, butter, sugar and eggs, as well as regular milk or condensed milk. It’s designed to be made using pantry staples (I’ve never made one and now I’m tempted!).

A SHOOFLY ("shoo-fly") pie is one I had never heard of until now. It’s a molasses-based pie with a crumble on top and a gooey base. It’s seemingly named after a company that produced molasses and has Pennsylvania Dutch origins:

Connections – Green Group

🟩 things associated with butts (CABOOSE, CAN, MOON, PEACH)

A CABOOSE is a euphemism for "butt." CAN can be the same thing or a reference to an individual buttock.

To MOON means to present one’s bare bum, perhaps to shock or insult someone, or as a prank.

Many folks use the PEACH emoji to refer to a person’s posterior.

Connections – Blue Group

🟦 tennis scoring terms (ADVANTAGE, DEUCE, FORTY, LOVE)

LOVE is something every tennis player wants to avoid, so to speak. It means they are yet to score in a game or set.

Each point of a game is scored differently than in other sports. The first point is 15, the second is 30 and the third is FORTY. A tennis player must then win by two points to claim a game.

So if both players reach a score of FORTY in a game, they are at DEUCE. The next player to score has an ADVANTAGE. If they win the next point, they win the game. Otherwise, it’s back to DEUCE.

Connections – Purple Group

🟪 _____ mustard (COLONEL, HONEY, HOT, YELLOW)

COLONEL Mustard is one of the characters in the board game Clue (also known as Cluedo).

HONEY mustard is a blend of honey and mustard, strangely enough.

HOT mustard is a version of the condiment that’s designed to bring out the natural heat of mustard seeds.

YELLOW mustard is the most common variety in the U.S. It’s the most typical option for hot dogs.

Connections – Red Herrings

I didn’t catch any red herrings this time, other than PEACH also being a type of pie. Let me know if you spotted one!

Edit: As it turns out, there is in fact a red herring of pet names too! PUMPKIN, PEACH, LOVE and HONEY are all common terms of endearment. Annoyed at myself for missing that one. (Thanks, Maxim!)

Edit: Thanks to those of you (there were a few folks!) who reminded me that MOON pie exists as well.

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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.