Today’s NYT Connections (#877) comes in at a mid-range challenge, with a 2.8/5 difficulty. If you still want to take a crack at it first, you can play the puzzle on the New York Times Games site at nytimes.com/games/connections. Spoilers follow.

Category hints (light nudges)

  • Yellow: Making sure things are heading in the right direction.
  • Green: Layers.
  • Blue: Things stored on computers.
  • Purple: A type of musical instrument and its varieties.

Today’s answers for Connections #877

Color Category Words
Yellow Steer Direct, Drive, Guide, Pilot
Green Thin layer Coat, Film, Leaf, Sheet
Blue File extensions Doc, Mid, Tiff, Zip
Purple ____ Guitar Air, Electric, Rhythm, Slide

Why these groupings work

  • Steer: Each word can mean to control or guide a course — you can direct, drive, guide, or pilot something.
  • Thin layer: These are all ultra-fine coverings — a coat of paint, a film over water, a leaf of gold, a sheet of ice.
  • File extensions: Common suffixes you’ll find on digital files — .doc (documents), .mid (MIDI), .tiff (image format), .zip (compressed archives).
  • ____ Guitar: Each pairs cleanly to form a guitar type — air guitar, electric guitar, rhythm guitar, slide guitar.

Connections refreshes daily at midnight in your local time zone. If you’re tracking streaks, bookmark your routine — and expect a new mix of categories tomorrow.