Today's Connections puzzle is filled with different words that represent nouns, from specific items to titles that refer to broader groups. With many phrases being used in similar contexts, I found the puzzle much trickier to solve as it actively tries to fool you. While seemingly simple on the surface, you'll have to look for clues first to correctly guess which categories make up the right answers.

Similar to the NYT Vertex picture puzzles, visualizing the words in today's Connections puzzle will help you start analyzing which categories they might be a part of. Look at how words are structured as well as their definitions, as they could be titles for concepts outside what they describe. You only have four chances to make a mistake, so take your time to find patterns.

Today's Connections Category Hints

May 17 #706

I was able to solve the puzzle today by thinking of how broad or specific many of the words were. For example, the word ANIMAL has a broad definition for many types of species, but it paired well with PLANT since that phrase could also refer to all types of vegetation. If I had to give today's puzzle a theme, it would be titles and settings that you might associate with the available.

For anyone looking to find out what categories are present in today's puzzle, try using these hints to get a good head start:

• One category is about things related to titles for groups of similar organisms.
• One category is about things related to tools used in places of higher education.
• One category is about things related to types of flightless birds who live in cold areas.
• One category is about things related to words that have electronic counterparts.

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 17 #706

Yellow Answers: Revealed & Explained

This was an easier part of today's puzzle for me to solve, as I saw how PLANT and ANIMAL were both larger that referred to large groups of organisms. Similarly, BACTERIA and FUNGUS are two that define entire groups of life on the planet. By putting these two pairings of concepts together, I found the first right answer without issue.

Green Answers: Revealed & Explained

When you enter a laboratory for research, you oftentimes use a RULER or BEAKER to help you search for conclusive scientific results. This idea led me to the first clues in this part of the puzzle, so I added SYRINGE in the assumption that this research was surrounded with a medical context. However, I realized that RULER and PROTRACTOR could both help solve high-level mathematics research too, helping me form the rest of this group.

Blue Answers: Revealed & Explained

At first glance, CHINSTRAP and MACARONI have no real comparison to any other words in today's puzzle, but EMPEROR and KING fit together as titles. I originally thought RULER was part of this group as well, until I thought about what other titles were in the puzzle. After some research, I saw how MACARONI is a title for a species of penguin, with EMPEROR penguins, CHINSTRAP penguins, and KING penguins following suit.

Purple Answers: Revealed & Explained

When I was looking for pieces of today's puzzle, I initially put SIGNATURE and MAIL in the same group for how they both have to do with writing your name. This didn't lead anywhere else unitl I ed that an email and MAIL are two versions of the same thing, with one being electronic. To compare, e-COMMERCE, an e-SIGNATURE, or e-SCOOTER are all that are electronic versions of something physical.

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