Today's Connections puzzle focuses on how its words are presented, rather than how those same phrases are defined. There were some tricks in this puzzle that threw me for a loop, making it one of the more unique collections of words than usual. Those who visualize words in these puzzles might have an easier time, but anyone who struggles might need some helpful hints to succeed.

For any fans of the NYT Vertex puzzle game, today's Connections puzzle will be somewhat familiar in how it asks you to visualize its phrases. I found that this puzzle was much easier to solve once you realized the theme of presentation over strict definitions. Keep in mind that you only have four chances to make a mistake before failing the puzzle without any more attempts.

Today's Connections Category Hints

April 27 #686

One of the ways I managed to solve today's puzzle was thinking about how I would see various words rather than their actions. For example, the word EQUALS from the puzzle was much easier for me to categorize when I imagined when and where I would see it. By evaluating your relationship with how you perceive how some words are presented, you'll quickly start to notice some patterns.

If you're struggling to find the right pairings in today's puzzle, try to use these clues to start understanding different category topics:

• One category is about things you would see presented on a calculator.
• One category is about things you would see to present collections of dead skin cells from someone's head.
• One category is about things you would eat in between meals.
• One category is about things used to present culinary dishes from a specific country.

If you want to go all out with some of your clue-searching, you should look at the category names to get some extra help. There are also spoilers for each category if you find yourself needing to solve a single category to finish up.

Today's Connections Answers

April 27 #686

Yellow Answers: Revealed & Explained

This part of the puzzle was simple enough for me to solve, as I recognized TIMES to refer to the term for multiplication. With this phrase, I visualized what other I would see in association with TIMES, which helped me rope in EQUALS and MINUS. The final word, PERCENT, only made sense to me when I realized that a calculator or other device showed all these mathematical together in the same place.

Green Answers: Revealed & Explained

Originally, I did catch on to the connection between TUFT and LOCK, but I thought these were referring to the fur of an animal. This pattern is still good for deciphering the rest of this puzzle piece, as SHOCK and THATCH both refer to amounts of hair or fur in equal measure. These final two words don't have much presentation with other in the puzzle, so this category is the only place they fit the most.

Blue Answers: Revealed & Explained

This puzzle section wasn't as easy as I thought it would be, mainly due to how I thought GOLDFISH paired better with MEATBALL and CHEF. After this, I realized that GOLDFISH likely had another meaning, as most goldfish are not considered food. By visualizing other situations where I might see goldfish, I ed that it was a type of snack, allowing RUFFLE, TAKI, and COMBO to easily fit into a single topic.

Purple Answers: Revealed & Explained

FISH and MEATBALL were relatively simple to put together since both can be visualized in a meal. When I thought more about those ' presentation, though, I imagined a CHEF being there to display the meal once it has been made. I didn't discover the Swedish connection until MASSAGE was the last word available, allowing me to figure out what the category meant after I had the right answer in front of me.

Other Games Like Connections

If you are looking for another puzzle to play, check out one of the ones in the box below.