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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 Wordle hints and answers, Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too.

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 #541) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• COOKIE
• EMMY
• GRAMMY
• KATIE
• JUNIOR
• OSCAR
• TONY
• POP
• CECE
• MUMMY
• COUNT
• MEADOW
• SNUFFY
• CUZ
• CARMELA
• EDIE

NYT Connections today (game #541) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• Yellow: Don't mess with this family
• Green: What's up bro?
• Blue: Where's Elmo?
• Purple: Evie could be another

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 #541) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: SOPRANOS
• GREEN: FAMILIAL NICKNAMES
• BLUE: “SESAME STREET” CHARACTERS
• PURPLE: NAMES THAT SOUND LIKE TWO LETTERS

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

NYT Connections today (game #541) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #541, are…

• YELLOW: SOPRANOS CARMELA, JUNIOR, MEADOW, TONY
• GREEN: FAMILIAL NICKNAMES CUZ, GRAMMY, MUMMY, POP
• BLUE: “SESAME STREET” CHARACTERS COOKIE, COUNT, OSCAR, SNUFFY
• PURPLE: NAMES THAT SOUND LIKE TWO LETTERS CECE, EDIE, EMMY, KATIE

• My rating: Moderate
• My score: Fail

There was simply too many red herrings in today's Connections and I ended up losing a streak which hadn't really been going all that long anyway.

The problems were many: I messed up with the yellow SOPRANOS group, despite loving that show, by initially having EDIE in there, thinking of the actress who plays CARMELA, and left out MEADOW instead. Then I lost another two more on an assumption that OSCAR, GRAMMY and EMMY were all awards shows, and that maybe there was another I didn't know; I guessed EDIE and SNUFFY but both were wrong so I moved on.

I then solved green – which wasn't too bad – before realizing that OSCAR, COUNT and COOKIE were all SESAME STREET CHARACTERS. Unfortunately it's a long time since I was a regular viewer (obviously!), so I didn't know that SNUFFY was the fourth. I probably should have guessed – I mean it sounds like a Sesame Street character, right? – but that's how it goes sometimes. Oh well.

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

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Monday, 2 December, game #540)

• YELLOW: ANNOUNCE BROADCAST, DECLARE, HERALD, TRUMPET
• GREEN: THINGS INVOLVING MALLETS CARPENTRY, CROQUET, WHAC-A-MOLE, XYLOPHONE
• BLUE: ICON EMBROIDERED ON A POLO SHIRT CROCODILE, LAUREL, POLO PLAYER, SWOOSH
• PURPLE: ___ CLIP ALLIGATOR, HAIR, PAPER, VIDEO

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.

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 Wordle today, NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles.

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 #1044) - 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 #1044) - 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 1.

Quordle today (game #1044) - 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 #1044) - 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 #1044) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• F

• T

• C

• S

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

Quordle today (game #1044) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1044, are…

• FUDGE
• THICK
• CRANK
• STASH

FUDGE is one of those Quordle words you have to be very careful with, because it's a classic example of the two-many-answers variety: BUDGE, NUDGE and JUDGE are all alternatives. Fortunately I still had plenty of guesses left by the time I got to it, and so didn't need to worry about it costing me the game. However, PUNCH on the Daily Sequence is even worse: BUNCH, HUNCH, LUNCH and MUNCH could all also be in play here. Watch out for these traps or you'll be in trouble…

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

Daily Sequence today (game #1044) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1044, are…

• PUNCH
• BREED
• SPEAR
• CLEAN

Quordle answers: The past 20

• 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
• Quordle #1030, Tuesday 19 November: NINJA, PENCE, PAINT, FOIST
• Quordle #1029, Monday 18 November: ASCOT, BRINK, WEIRD, HOMER
• Quordle #1028, Sunday 17 November: STATE, BRAWN, SWORE, URBAN
• Quordle #1027, Saturday 16 November: NOTCH, BENCH, BUSED, FOUND
• Quordle #1026, Friday 15 November: PURER, TRUSS, TORCH, FORUM
• Quordle #1025, Thursday 14 November: EXALT, TASTE, CRONY, CLOUT
• Quordle #1024, Wednesday 13 November: YEARN, ELBOW, SURGE, PINEY

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 Wordle today, NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games.

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

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Lead the way

NYT Strands today (game #275) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• HEAD
• LIFT
• GIFT
• SANE
• SHARE
• FLIT

NYT Strands today (game #275) - hint #3 - spangram What is a hint for today's spangram?

• Shine a light

NYT Strands today (game #275) - hint #4 - spangram position What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First: bottom, 4th row

Last: top, 3rd row

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

NYT Strands today (game #275) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #275, are…

• CANDLE
• LANTERN
• TORCH
• HEADLAMP
• FLASHLIGHT
• SPANGRAM: ILLUMINATION

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

This was a remarkably straightforward Strands puzzle after a few more complicated entries. The theme is simply ILLUMINATION, and the answers are all types of lighting: HEADLAMP, TORCH, LANTERN, CANDLE etc. I found CANDLE first, and coupled with the theme clue of lead the way that conjured up images (for some reason) of Ebenezer Scrooge stalking through the Victorian night, which led me to LANTERN and TORCH. I had to think a little more modern for the final two, but overall this was an easy one.

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

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Monday, 2 December, game #274)

• TAXMAN
• HELP
• YESTERDAY
• BLACKBIRD
• REVOLUTION
• SPANGRAM: SONGTITLES

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.

Robert Heinlein's first short story, titled Life-Line, was published in 1939 and tells the tale of the inventor of a machine that can precisely predict when you'll die with 100% precision. Eighty-five years after that chilling tale of inevitability versus free will, you can download an app called Death Clock that uses AI to attempt the same feat. Admittedly, the app doesn't claim infallibility and is aimed more at encouraging you to do things that will improve your outlook but my first impression of technology predicting your demise remains the same.

The Death Clock app predicts your “death day” based on details you provide about your lifestyle: diet, exercise, stress levels, sleep – you know, the usual culprits. Developed by a company called Most Days, the app uses artificial intelligence trained on a massive dataset of over 1,200 studies involving 53 million people, according to a Bloomberg report.

You start by entering details about how often you exercise, sleep quality, stress, and other factors. The app crunches the data and gives you your “death day.” It’s not just a number, though. Once you’ve entered your info, the app offers a macabre farewell card featuring the Grim Reaper. The point isn't to shock so much as to use the result to encourage healthier habits by giving you a stark reminder of your mortality. And judging by its popularity – it’s been downloaded more than 10,000 times on Google Play – it’s working for a lot of people.

AI reaper

Beyond morbid curiosity, it's understandable why individuals might want to know an estimate of their lifespan. You might seek evidence of where you can improve your lifestyle to be healthier. It might even inform your retirement plans.

But, there are two glaring problems with the Death Clock as a concept. For one, no matter how accurate the numbers you submit, they don't really tell the whole story of your health and well-being, let alone your ultimate lifespan. Most of the numbers we rely on to determine lifespan are just averages. The Death Clock may boast about a customized prediction, but the output can only match the quality of data it uses to compare your numbers.

The other issue with the app is more about what it might mean for society if AI were relied on for measuring lifespan and health. Imagine how insurance companies, employers, and government services might rapidly become (even more of) a dystopian maze where being young and healthy might not matter for getting healthcare or a job if an AI decides you're doomed to early death. Like most AI products, the issue is about when human judgment is replaced with AI and numbers without context. It's hard enough when insurance firms only have actuarial tables and your medical records to use; an AI judgment system would make things much worse.

If you're interested in what the Death Clock can tell you about improving your lifestyle, that's fine. Just be sure not to take it as gospel, one way or another. The reaper may be on his way for all of us, but no AI can tell you when he's sharpening his scythe

You might also like...

• The AI health coach from OpenAI and Arianna Huffington sounds like it's still out of shape
• Robotic AI performs successful surgery after watching videos for training
• Healthcare workers are ready (and keen) for an AI revolution

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