Start with the spoiler-free clues. Reveal the answers only when you've truly given up.
A direction for each group — no names given.
What kind of thinking each group asks for.
Pointed nudges on the words built to fool you.
Every Connections board plants a few decoys. Here are today's, and why they pull you the wrong way.
'Hero' might seem like a category about comic book characters or bravery, but here it's a regional term for a long sandwich.
'Roll' might appear to belong with food (like bread rolls) or motion, but it's part of the 'jelly ___' group.
'Grounds' could be misinterpreted as a place (like grounds of a house) or as in coffee grounds, but in this puzzle it's a synonym for a reason or basis.
The four yellow words are all regional slang terms for a submarine sandwich: grinder, hero, hoagie, and sub. This group is straightforward once you think of deli counters.
These green words — argument, basis, cause, grounds — all mean a reason or justification for something, like an excuse or a foundational argument. A clean synoym set.
The blue group covers common photo editing tools on a smartphone: adjust, crop, filters, and markup. They require recognizing the digital context rather than literal meanings.
The purple group is a puzzle within the puzzle: each word pairs with 'jelly' to form a common compound: jelly bean, jelly belly, jelly donut, jelly roll. The connection is purely lexical and not semantic — you need to spot the missing first word.
a textbook decoy
requires lateral thinking
