Prefer to solve first? Play today’s puzzle at the New York Times Games site: Connections. Spoilers start below.

Today’s difficulty rating

Testers rated game #855 a 3.3 out of 5 in difficulty.

Category hints (no spoilers)

  • Yellow: metaphors for situations that could quickly turn messy
  • Green: events you’d commonly see promoted at a bar
  • Blue: things you say when someone finally leaves
  • Purple: phrases ending with verbs that mean “to swindle”

One tile per group (soft spoilers)

  • Yellow example: MINEFIELD
  • Green example: LIVE MUSIC
  • Blue example: FINALLY
  • Purple example: LUCKY STIFF

Today’s 16 tiles (game #855)

PANDORA'S BOX LUCKY STIFF LIVE MUSIC GOLDEN FLEECE
GOOD RIDDANCE HAPPY HOUR HORNET'S NEST COMIC CON
KARAOKE AMERICAN HUSTLE SAYONARA MINEFIELD
FINALLY CAN OF WORMS TRIVIA NIGHT ABOUT TIME

Full answers and categories (spoilers)

Category Tiles
Metaphors for potentially volatile situations (Yellow) CAN OF WORMS, HORNET'S NEST, MINEFIELD, PANDORA'S BOX
Bar events (Green) HAPPY HOUR, KARAOKE, LIVE MUSIC, TRIVIA NIGHT
Words after a welcome departure (Blue) ABOUT TIME, FINALLY, GOOD RIDDANCE, SAYONARA
Ending with synonyms for “swindle” (Purple) AMERICAN HUSTLE, COMIC CON, GOLDEN FLEECE, LUCKY STIFF

Why these groupings work

  • Yellow clusters common idioms for thorny situations: opening a PANDORA’S BOX or a CAN OF WORMS, kicking a HORNET’S NEST, or navigating a MINEFIELD all signal trouble ahead.
  • Green is the chalkboard outside your local: HAPPY HOUR deals, KARAOKE nights, LIVE MUSIC sets, and a weekly TRIVIA NIGHT.
  • Blue captures relief at someone’s exit: ABOUT TIME and FINALLY are blunt; GOOD RIDDANCE and SAYONARA close the door with a flourish.
  • Purple hinges on the last word acting as a verb meaning “to swindle”: HUSTLE, CON, FLEECE, and STIFF.

Connections refreshes daily at midnight in your time zone, with four clean sets hidden among 16 tiles. If you solved today’s wall, come back tomorrow for a fresh grid.