NYT Connections hints and answers for Thursday, February 12 (game #977)
A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Wednesday, February 11 (game #976).
Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.
What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
NYT Connections today (game #977) - today's words

Today's NYT Connections words are…
- MAY
- YANK
- A
- CARD
- FROZEN
- PRODUCE
- DANCING
- DAIRY
- MAKE
- JAY
- FAST
- FORM
- DRAG
- FIRM
- MOLD
- TIGHT
NYT Connections today (game #977) - hint #1 - group hints
What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: The act of building
- GREEN: In a steady position
- BLUE: Short versions of baseball teams
- PURPLE: Add a royal name
Need more clues?
We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…
NYT Connections today (game #977) - hint #2 - group answers
What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: CONSTRUCT
- GREEN: FIXED IN PLACE
- BLUE: MLB PLAYER, FOR SHORT
- PURPLE: ____ QUEEN
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Connections today (game #977) - the answers

The answers to today's Connections, game #977, are…
- YELLOW: CONSTRUCT FORM, MAKE, MOLD, PRODUCE
- GREEN: FIXED IN PLACE FAST, FIRM, FROZEN, TIGHT
- BLUE: MLB PLAYER, FOR SHORT A, CARD, JAY, YANK
- PURPLE: ____ QUEEN DAIRY, DANCING, DRAG, MAY
- My rating: Hard
- My score: Perfect
One of things I like about Connections, and there are many, is when you get a group based off a hunch from one tile.
I got that today with DANCING, which made me think of two things: Dancing with the Stars and Dancing Queen by the Swedish pop group ABBA.
Aside from DRAG I was uncertain if DAIRY and MAY also worked alongside QUEEN, but went for them because they sounded right. I’ve since discovered that Dairy Queen is one of the few US restaurant chains that is yet to make it to the UK, although it has made it to Saudi Arabia.
My other culture gap of the day was MLB PLAYER FOR SHORT – JAY and YANK I may have connected, but A and CARD seemed completely unrelated to baseball from my position of limited knowledge.
Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Wednesday, February 11, game #976)
- YELLOW: ACT LOVESTRUCK MOON, PINE, SWOON, YEARN
- GREEN: EARNINGS GAIN, NET, RETURN, YIELD
- BLUE: COMPACT MASS BLOCK, BRICK, CAKE, PUCK
- PURPLE: ROLLER_____ BAG, COASTER, DERBY, RINK
What is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.
On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.
It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.
It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
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