As you may know by now, I enjoy starting the Monday editions of this column with a lively and upbeat song. The goal is to brighten your day and maybe even get you moving.

I’m honestly surprised I’ve gone this long without using an ABBA song, so let’s fix that right away:

Before we dive in, I want to mention our friendly community on Discord where we discuss *NYT Connections*, other *NYT* games, and more. Everyone who has joined has been great. It's a fun place to hang out, and you're always welcome to join us.

Discord is also the best way to send me any feedback about the column, especially when I make a mistake—whether it happens rarely or not-so-rarely. I don’t check comments or Twitter often. You can also read my weekend editions of this column in my new newsletter, Pastimes.*

Now, here are today’s NYT Connections hints and answers for Monday, June 23.

How To Play Connections

Connections is a free, popular daily word game from the New York Times. A new puzzle is released every midnight. You can play either on the NYT’s website or via the Games app.

You’ll see a grid of 16 words and must sort them into four groups of four by identifying their connections. These groups could be things like types of research participants, clickable items, or words that follow a body part.

Each puzzle has only one correct solution, and some words might fit into multiple categories. If needed, you can shuffle the words to help spot patterns.

Groups are color-coded: yellow is usually the easiest, followed by blue and green, while purple tends to be the most challenging—often involving wordplay.

Select four words you think belong together and press Submit. If your guess is incorrect, you’ll lose a life. If you’re close, you may receive a hint saying you’re just one word off, but you’ll still need to figure out which word to swap.

Four wrong guesses mean game over. Let’s avoid that by using the hints below—or if you're really stuck, take a look at today’s Connections answers. Like Wordle and similar games, you can easily share your results with friends on social media or group chats.

If you have an NYT All Access or Games subscription, you can access the Connections archive. This includes all past puzzles, so you can replay any you missed.

Except for the first 60 games or so, you should be able to find our hints online! Just click here and include the date of the puzzle you're looking for in your search query.

What Are Today’s Connections Hints?

Scroll carefully! Just after the hints for each of today’s Connections groups, I’ll reveal what the groups are without telling you exactly which words go in them.

Today’s 16 words are...

• HISTORICAL
• OLD FASHIONED
• SKINNY
• BELL
• SUN
• FLARE
• LITERARY
• MOM
• OLD MAN
• COCKTAIL
• FAREWELL
• YOUNG ADULT
• COLLINS
• BOYFRIEND
• SPECULATIVE
• SHOT

And the hints for today’s Connections groups are:

• ? Yellow group — like software, these garments often have patches
• ? Green group — get this and it might be a fantasy, if not, perhaps a horror tale
• ? Blue group — like time, spring, green hills, river and winner
• ? Purple group — pony, yard and sherry would fit in here

One Word For Each Connections Group

Need a bit more help?

Warning: we’re entering spoiler territory.

Let’s look at one word for each group.

Today’s Connections word hints are…

• ? Yellow group — MOM
• ? Green group — YOUNG ADULT
• ? Blue group — OLD MAN
• ? Purple group —OLD FASHIONED

What Are Today’s Connections Groups?

Today’s Connections groups are...

• ? Yellow group — kinds of jeans
• ? Green group — fiction categories
• ? Blue group — words in Hemingway titles
• ? Purple group — _____ glass glassware

What Are Today’s Connections Answers?

Spoiler alert! Don’t scroll further unless you’re ready to see today’s Connections answers.

This is your final warning!

Today’s Connections answers are...

• ? Yellow group — kinds of jeans (BOYFRIEND, FLARE, MOM, SKINNY)
• ? Green group — fiction categories (HISTORICAL, LITERARY, SPECULATIVE, YOUNG ADULT)
• ? Blue group — words in Hemingway titles (BELL, FAREWELL, OLD MAN, SUN)
• ? Purple group — _____ glass glassware (COCKTAIL, COLLINS, OLD FASHIONED, SHOT)

There were quite a few alcohol-related terms again today, which was interesting since we saw something similar recently. OLD FASHIONED, SKINNY, COCKTAIL, SHOT and COLLINS. But COCKTAIL is also the title of a drama film, as are YOUNG ADULT and (The) FAREWELL. Hmm.

But! YOUNG ADULT is also a type of fiction. As are the rest of the greens, so that took care of my first group of the day.

I then realized that we weren’t talking about drinks specifically – an OLD FASHIONED is a type of COCKTAIL, and it wouldn’t make sense for them to go together in that vein – but glassware. Once I clocked SHOT, that group was clear enough. Purples, sorted.

The last two groups were a little tricky. I thought at first that SUN, FLARE, FAREWELL and BELL would go together as a group marking the passage of time or signalling or something like that. But nah.

Then FLARE and SKINNY melded together in my brain. That gave way to jeans. MOM went with them too. It took me an astonishingly long time to remember that BOYFRIEND jeans are a thing – I am not sure I’ve ever seen those in the flesh. BELL (bottoms) seemed like a red herring there.

That left the blues to wrap things up. I am ashamed to admit I lacked the literary knowledge to have figured this group out.

The Ernest Hemingway works referred to are For Whom the BELL Tolls, A FAREWELL to Arms, The OLD MAN and the Sea and The SUN Also Rises.

No perfect game, today, but that’s 118 wins in a row. Here's the grid:

????
????
????
????
????

That’s all there is to it for today’s Connections clues and answers. Be sure to check my blog tomorrow for hints and the solution for Tuesday’s game if you need them.

P.S. Given the blue group, I was tempted to go with "For Whom The Bell Tolls" by Metallica as today's recommendation, but it doesn't quite fit the upbeat vibe we strive for on Mondays.

But getting that in my head did put me in the mood for something a little heavier. And what better way to fit the bill than with my current obsession, Electric Callboy?

This so-called party metal band are absolutely fantastic, and they've got a great song for summer. "We Got The Moves" is one of Electric Callboy's best-known songs. It's part-metalcore anthem and part-rave track with a poppy, summery chorus. It's all about partying and having a good time.

This maybe won’t be for everyone, but hey, it's my column. And I wouldn't recommend something I don't think folks would like. So, give it a shot. You might find that you love it too.

I would note that the first seven seconds or so of the video are perhaps NSFW (that cocktail thing is pretty eyebrow raising) and some other shots are very suggestive. There’s a swear in the first verse too. It’s still a very fun and silly video for a killer song:

http://miracleart.cn/link/db90e948252c7d1753efe6fc9612dabe

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