The context behind certain words in today's Connections puzzle is hard to interpret without some visual association to help guide you. I found that each phrase was able to fit into patterns when I thought about the shape or purpose each word might represent. With some great clues to give you an initial idea, you can find out which categories the puzzle is asking for to discover the right answers.

As you would use images to solve Vertex puzzles in other NYT games, today's Connections puzzle has words that are better imagined through how they look. If you stick to only the definitions of different phrases, you can easily get tricked or become lost in how concepts fit together. With only four chances to make a mistake, you need to take your time and look for multiple meanings to succeed.

Today's Connections Category Hints

May 5 #694

If I were to describe a theme for today's puzzle, it would be action and shape to the words being used. Some of the categories for today were easier for me to find when I thought about how words looked and what they would do or be used for once visualized. For example, knowing the shape and purpose of the word BATON helped me understand how it related to other phrases in the puzzle.

Use some of these clues to help you find out which categories make up today's puzzle:

• One category is about things related to how you might fly through the sky.
• One category is about things you might associate with the main villain of Bram Stoker's famous novel.
• One category is about things used to describe things slowing down after unexpected growth.
• One category is about things shaped the same way without any sharp edges.

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

May 5 #694

Yellow Answers: Revealed & Explained

This part of the puzzle was difficult for me to solve at first, but I still put COAST and CRUISE together to start this category. Originally, I imagined that the topic here was "things you would see on the beach" or something similar. However, when I imagined how a CRUISE would FLOAT and DRIFT along the COAST, it was enough pattern recognition to put those words together to solve this puzzle section.

Green Answers: Revealed & Explained

When you read Bram Stoker's Dracula, there are iconic themes of vampires that all come from that literary work. Dracula transforms into a BAT, lives in a CASTLE, and uses his FANG to suck the blood of the innocent, and my love for classic horror or Universal movie monsters made me recognize this pattern quickly. With my additional appreciation for the Castlevania games, I also knew Dracula's CASTLE is just as important as the vampire himself.

Blue Answers: Revealed & Explained

One of my earliest connections with today's puzzle was to put PLATEAU in a category based on its alternate meaning to LEVEL out, or stop changing. This concept helped me recognize how SETTLE fits into the picture, as that word can represent another instance of calming down or evening out. FLATTEN was a bit of a random guess for the last word, but its meanings also lend to this category's theme.

Purple Answers: Revealed & Explained

I had an easier time solving this part of the puzzle, mainly because I recognized how some words were shaped early. A CIGAR and TORPEDO both have similar shapes alongside a CIGAR or HOAGIE. While you can't hold a TORPEDO with your hand, the imagery of holding the other objects made this section of the puzzle much simpler to figure out.

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