Today's NYT Connections Hints, Answers for Dec. 11, #549

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Oh, the New York Times Connections puzzle really went all in on wacky wordplay today. The yellow and green categories are fairly understandable, but blue and purple go off the rails. Both of them don’t have a connection relating to the meaning of the four words. Instead, they look at how the words are put together and play off similarities there. I kind of love these categories, but that doesn’t mean I ace them. But with those hints, go forth and solve.

Read more: New NYT Connections Game for Sports Fans Lets Players Swing for the Fences

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest, yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Perfect place

Green group hint: Maracas, too.

Blue group hint: Words crammed together.

Purple group hint: Amigo.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Utopia

Green group: Things you shake.

Blue group: Proper noun portmanteaux.

Purple group: Ending in synonyms for “friend.”

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is utopia. The four answers are paradise, seventh heaven, Shangri-La and Xanadu.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is things you shake. The four answers are hairspray, Magic 8-Ball, salad dressing, snowglobe.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is proper noun portmanteaux. The four answers are Jazzercise, paralympics, Pokémon and Wikipedia. 

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ending in synonyms for “friend.” The four answers are Ketchum, Paypal, primate and rosebud.