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.
Looks like it could be a musical instrument or a piece of furniture, but in this puzzle it's actually a dynamic marking meaning 'softly.'
Seems like it belongs with the music terms group, but it's a woodwind instrument, not a performance direction.
May be misread as a strong suit or a fencing term, but here it means 'loudly' in music. Also appears similar to the music direction group.
COUPE, FLUTE, STEIN, and TUMBLER are all types of drinking vessels. This group is straightforward once you think about barware, though COUPE might seem unusual at first.
FIDDLE, MESS, PLAY, and TINKER each mean to handle something casually or without serious intent. The verbs work with the phrase 'with' — like fiddling with a device.
ALLEGRO, FORTE, LARGO, and PIANO are Italian terms used in sheet music to instruct tempo or dynamics. This group may trip up non-musicians who don't know that PIANO is a volume marking, not the instrument.
BASSOON, BELFAST, NESQUICK, and THERMOSTAT each end with letters that form synonyms for 'as soon as possible': SOON, FAST, QUICK, and STAT. A clever wordplay category that reveals itself when you look at the tail ends.
a textbook decoy
requires lateral thinking
