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Here are some hints — and the answers — for Connections No. 548 for Dec. 10.

Here are some hints -- and the answers -- for the Dec. 10 Strands puzzle, No. 282.

Here are some hints and the answer for Wordle No. 1,270 for Tuesday, Dec. 10.

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Dec. 10.

Here are some hints — and the answers — for Connections: Sports Edition No. 78 for Dec. 10.

With iOS 18.2 imminent, set aside a few minutes to make sure your iPhone is backed up properly so you'll be prepped for the update.

Watch Google's Quantum AI director of hardware, Julian Kelly, show off Google's new Quantum Computing Chip capabilities, performing a standard benchmark computation in less than 5 minutes that would take modern supercomputers 10 septillion years to complete.

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,000 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1051) - hint #1 - Vowels How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1051) - hint #2 - repeated letters Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 0.

Quordle today (game #1051) - hint #3 - uncommon letters Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1051) - hint #4 - starting letters (1) Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1051) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• B

• T

• I

• G

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1051) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1051, are…

• BEGAN
• TRIAL
• IDEAL
• GUIDE

I attempted some actual tactics today to beat my dismal Quordle showing so far. I began with one of my favorite start words – STORE (181 5-letter words start with ST, and 1,517 5-letter words end in an E) – and followed it up with the fancy vowel-friendly ADIEU.

Despite finding all the vowels in two goes, I still struggled and only scraped home. This was mainly due to ineptitude and blindly entering TRAIL instead of TRIAL. I’m blaming vowel blindness and staying up until 4am binge-watching The Day of the Jackal.

Maybe tomorrow, inspired by arch-assassin Eddie Redmayne, I’ll shoot at my laptop keyboard letters with a high-velocity rifle from the roof of a building 2,000 meters away. It would probably be about as successful.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Daily Sequence today (game #1051) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1051, are…

• TWINE
• BLAND
• NEWER
• PATIO

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1050, Monday 9 December: TITAN, FORTE, SPEED, BRIAR
• Quordle #1049, Sunday 8 December: BUNCH, SHINY, MOULT, INTRO
• Quordle #1048, Saturday 7 December: SHAKY, CROOK, GHOUL, VERSE
• Quordle #1047, Friday 6 December: BRAWL, UNTIL, DOWRY, STING
• Quordle #1046, Thursday 5 December: AGING, BICEP, CLOVE, SPILL
• Quordle #1045, Wednesday 4 December: JUDGE, GIVER, GNASH, CLOAK
• Quordle #1044, Tuesday 3 December: FUDGE, THICK, CRANK, STASH
• Quordle #1043, Monday 2 December: TROPE, HOVER, SAUNA, SHAPE
• Quordle #1042, Sunday 1 December: NAIVE, CIRCA, STEAD, MICRO
• Quordle #1041, Saturday 30 November: MAMMA, SNUCK, CRYPT, TAROT
• Quordle #1040, Friday 29 November: JOIST, DROOL, DUSKY, GLIDE
• Quordle #1039, Thursday 28 November: GRADE, WORRY, NOISE, DAISY
• Quordle #1038, Wednesday 27 November: HEART, ROGUE, INEPT, UTILE
• Quordle #1037, Tuesday 26 November: PRIED, FAINT, HURRY, WOOER
• Quordle #1036, Monday 25 November: NUDGE, SNOOP, SHACK, DRYLY
• Quordle #1035, Sunday 24 November: CLOTH, CLAMP, PETTY, CHEST
• Quordle #1034, Saturday 23 November: AVOID, PLANT, FILET, TWIRL
• Quordle #1033, Friday 22 November: CUTIE, ALOOF, ETUDE, SILLY
• Quordle #1032, Thursday 21 November: RABBI, EAGER, COUGH, BRASH
• Quordle #1031, Wednesday 20 November: MINTY, TOPAZ, BRUSH, LAPEL

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 clues.

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 #548) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• FISH
• CALL
• WANDA
• RAN
• INLAND
• CRUISE
• FUMBLE
• TAXI
• TOUCHDOWN
• DUB
• OLIVIA
• ROOT
• NAME
• RUMMAGE
• TAKEOFF
• LABEL

NYT Connections today (game #548) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: Hey mister
• GREEN: Start on the runway
• BLUE: Look in the dark
• PURPLE: Nations with something missing

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 #548) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: GIVE A TITLE TO
• GREEN: PARTS OF A FLIGHT
• BLUE: FEEL AROUND (FOR)
• PURPLE: COUNTRIES MINUS FIRST LETTER

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #548) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #548, are…

• YELLOW: GIVE A TITLE TO CALL, DUB, LABEL, NAME
• GREEN: PARTS OF A FLIGHT CRUISE, TAKEOFF, TAXI, TOUCHDOWN
• BLUE: FEEL AROUND (FOR) FISH, FUMBLE, ROOT, RUMMAGE
• PURPLE: COUNTRIES MINUS FIRST LETTER INLAND, OLIVIA, RAN, WANDA

• My rating: Moderate
• My score: 1 mistake

Things that seem very obvious to American sports fans can be an utter mystery to those of us outside the US. From my rudimentary knowledge of the NFL, I knew that TOUCHDOWN and FUMBLE were football terms but could not decide on another pair. Could it be RUMMAGE, which sort of sounds like 'scrummage' (a term in rugby). FISH? Which possibly describes some unique move where a player puts the ball between their legs and swims up the field? Or maybe it's TAXI, which would involve one player giving the player with the ball a piggyback to the End Zone?

Or maybe this could be one of those cunning Connections red herrings – just like FISH, CALL, and WANDA.

After this initial FUMBLE and dismissing the NFL terms, I connected the dots to land on PARTS OF A FLIGHT and cruised to glory as the rest of the groups slotted into place.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Monday, 9 December, game #547)

• YELLOW: DELIBERATION CONSIDERATION, REFLECTION, SCRUTINY, THOUGHT
• GREEN: USED IN STARTING A FIRE FLINT, LIGHTER, MAGNIFYING GLASS, MATCHES
• BLUE: USED TO VIEW A BIOLOGICAL SAMPLE MICROSCOPE, SLIDE, SPECIMEN, STAIN
• PURPLE: WORDS AFTER "X" FACTOR, FILES, GAMES, RAY

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.

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #282) - hint #1 - today's theme What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Something to see

NYT Strands today (game #282) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• SAME
• RIFLE
• MULE
• SMACK
• PIECE
• FAME

NYT Strands today (game #282) - hint #3 - spangram What is a hint for today's spangram?

• Big screen wonder

NYT Strands today (game #282) - hint #4 - spangram position What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First: left, 5th row

Last: right, 5th row

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #282) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #282, are…

• FILM
• FLICK
• MOVIE
• PICTURE
• SHORT
• TALKIE
• FEATURE
• SPANGRAM: CINEMATIC

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 2 hints

Today’s Spangram reminded me of a few unsavory CINEMATIC experiences at my local Picturehouse Cinema.

I’m not a fan of a crowded theater, so I tend to go and see movies during the daytime whenever I can, but this does also tend to be the time when similarly anti-social/strange people go.

Twice I’ve been the only person in a completely empty screening, when, with 100 seats to choose from, someone has come in seconds before the start of the film and sat down next to me. Maybe I’m magnetic. It happened a few weeks ago when I went to see The Heretic, as if that film is not awkward and creepy enough as it is.

Another time, there was just me and one other person in the room and they stood up for the entire two hours. But the worst was when someone sat directly behind me. All was quiet for 30 minutes, but then I sensed something in my peripheral vision and spied two bare feet balanced on the back of my seat. I could have had fun with it and wedged popcorn between their toes, but instead, I just moved as many rows back as I could.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Monday, 9 December, game #280)

• WRAP
• PSALM
• GNOME
• HONESTY
• MNEMONIC
• KNUCKLE
• SPANGRAM: SILENT LETTER

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now out of beta so is a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

Flying anytime soon? You can now store a digital version of your passport in Google Wallet, but you can't use it everywhere. Here's what you need to know.

The third day of OpenAI's 12 Days of OpenAI went way bigger than the OpenAI o1 model of day one or the enterprise-focused day two. The AI company announced the general release of the long-awaited Sora AI video generator.

First teased nearly a year ago, there's a lot to unpack from the news, so here are five of the most important bits about Sora you need to know.

How to make videos with Sora

Sora is now accessible via its website to ChatGPT Plus and Pro subscribers in the U.S. and many other countries. The AI video maker employs an upgraded version of the model showcased in February called Sora Turbo – this new model produces better videos more quickly than the earlier iteration.

Beyond basic text-to-video capabilities, Sora Turbo adds some creative flexibility. You can submit a text prompt to make a video from scratch, as well as animate a still image, or remix an existing video based on a new text prompt.

Don't expect to make full-length feature films right away, though. Sora runs on a credit system similar to ChatGPT and DALL-E. ChatGPT Plus subscribers get 1,000 monthly credits, which equals 50 videos at 720p resolution of five seconds each that will be prioritized for creation.

If you're willing to pay $200 a month for the new ChatGPT Pro plan, you can get longer, higher quality videos of up to 20 seconds at 1080p and ten times as many priority videos as with Plus. You can also have up to five videos processing simultaneously. If you use up all 500 priority slots, you'll still get unlimited video generations below the priority level, but none of the videos will have the OpenAI watermark. That's not the case on the Plus plan, though. Even if you're not making a video, you can check out the Sora Explore page and see what others are making.

Once you're logged into Sora, you can follow the steps below to make a video in Sora, and check out our hands-on with making a video here.

• Visit Sora.com and log in with your ChatGPT Plus or Pro account credentials.
• Once logged in, locate and click on the "Create" or "New Video" button to open the video generation interface.
• In the text box, type a prompt for the video you wish to create.
• You can set a style pre-set and, depending on your subscription tier, you can set your resolution and duration as well.
• Click the "Generate" button and Sora will create your video.
• Once the video is ready, you can preview it and redo it or remix it with a new prompt.

Sorry UK and Europe

There's bad news for those in the UK and Europe eager to use Sora. The AI video maker is not available there yet, and the delay has no ending in sight. It's a familiar scenario for OpenAI products facing the region's stringent regulatory landscape.

This cautious rollout echoes the restrictions faced by ChataGPT, including an outright ban by Italy. DALL-E's image maker was also slow to launch in the region as OpenAI navigated the complexities of European AI governance.

Storyboarding

One standout element of the new Sora platform is the Storyboards feature. Basically, you can set up multiple prompts in a row to design a narrative that the AI will turn into a sequence of multiple videos that can be merged into one cohesive story.

So, say you might want to make a video explaining the water cycle. With Storyboards, you could generate a sequence showing water evaporating from a lake, condensing into clouds, and eventually falling back to earth as rain – all animated and guided by simple text prompts. You could tell all kinds of fun stories and link them together in a cohesive style rather than hoping the AI will maintain that preferred look with multiple independent prompts. You can see an example of a Storyboard below.

(Image credit: OpenAI) Blending

Another major feature of Sora is Blending. Like the Storyboard feature, Blending is about combining videos. However, while Storyboard is about linking videos across time, Blending merges two scenes through a transition that works organically with both. Sora can easily meld disparate lighting, perspective, motion, and other elements and meld them into a harmonious whole.

Say you have an AI-generated clip of a serene forest and another clip showing a busy city of the future. Blending would let you show the forest transform into the city skyline. The smooth transition could be very evocative if you're telling a story of urbanization or perhaps of someone moving from the countryside to the big city. Even the ocean and outer space could link together, with bubbles morphing into swirling suns of a distant galaxy as you open your sci-fi movie, perhaps.

Safety and competition

Of course, the usual quality and content safety issues arise with Sora, as with any other AI video generator. That's why videos generated with Sora will have visible watermarks unless you pay to remove them.

All of them will include metadata that can track their origin, though, so even without a watermark, a video made with Sora will be identifiable. The idea is to address growing concerns about misinformation, deepfakes, and AI manipulation. And you won't be allowed to upload images or videos to Sora without agreeing to guidelines forbidding content involving minors, violence, explicit material, or anything copyrighted. You'll get suspended or banned if caught.

Those restrictions aren't unique to Sora, but they put it in the same arena as other AI video makers. There's been an enormous burst of interest in the technology, with commensurate releases of alternatives like Runway, Stability AI, Pika, and Luma Labs' Dream Machine, among others.

You might also like...

• OpenAI’s Sora and other AI video makers look amazing in their demos – why won’t they let us try them?
• OpenAI’s Sora video generator (briefly) leaked in protest by early users
• Coca-Cola’s iconic 'Holidays Are Coming' ad is now a soulless and creepy dystopian nightmare made by AI

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