NYT Connections hints and answers for Tuesday, February 17 (game #982)

Looking for a different day?

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 Monday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Monday, February 16 (game #981).

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 #982) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• PLUM
• LEAF
• FLASH
• BUSTLE
• THUMB
• OYSTER
• FLOPPY
• ZIP
• SKIM
• SOY
• DART
• BOMBAY
• SPEED
• FLIP
• HOISIN
• MISSUS

NYT Connections today (game #982) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• YELLOW: Whizz about
• GREEN: Asian cookery
• BLUE: Hurriedly peruse something
• PURPLE: Begins with failure

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 #982) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: ZOOM
• GREEN: SAUCES IN CHINESE CUISINE
• BLUE: RIFFLE (THROUGH)
• PURPLE: STARTING WITH SYNONYMS FOR "DUD"

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

NYT Connections today (game #982) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #982, are…

• YELLOW: ZOOM DART, FLASH, SPEED, ZIP
• GREEN: SAUCES IN CHINESE CUISINE HOISIN, OYSTER, PLUM, SOY
• BLUE: RIFFLE (THROUGH) FLIP, LEAF, SKIM, THUMB
• PURPLE: STARTING WITH SYNONYMS FOR "DUD" BOMBAY, BUSTLE, FLOPPY, MISSUS

---

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 mistake

---

Thinking that I had spotted four tiles that were linked by computer drive storage I confidently connected THUMB, FLOPPY, ZIP and FLASH. 

After not even getting a “one away” pop up, I focused and swapped my initial thought that OYSTER could belong to a group of exotic mushrooms, spotting the SAUCES IN CHINESE CUISINE.

For FLIP, LEAF, SKIM, THUMB, I was thinking these words referred to reading or perusing books at speed rather than RIFLE (THROUGH), but as is often the case with Connections it’s the group of fours rather than the category that gets you over the line.

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Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Monday, February 16, game #981)

• YELLOW: KNEE SLAPPER HOOT, LAUGH, RIOT, SCREAM
• GREEN: HOMOPHONES DO, DOE, DOH, DOUGH
• BLUE: SOUNDS A CHICKEN MAKES BUCK, CACKLE, CLUCK, SQUAWK
• PURPLE: STRESS RESPONSES FAWN, FIGHT, FLIGHT, FREEZE

---

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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X is down –here's what we know about the major outage

X is down for many users right now, with thousands reporting that the social media site is serving up error messages and isn't working for them.

The issues started at around 8.02am ET / 1.02pm GMT, when a large spike in reports appeared on Downdetector in the US and UK. At the time of writing, those reports are at over 11,000 in the US and over 3,300 in the UK.

There's been no official confirmation yet from X about the issue, but we'll be bringing you all the updates here in this liveblog.

The latest news

• X is down for many users around the world right now
• The issues started at around 8.02am ET / 1.02pm GMT
• The outage has no known cause yet

That's a big spike

(Image credit: Downdetector)

It seems most people (including us) are struggling to get X to load right now – there's currently over 23,000 reports on Downdetector (above) in the US, and over 6,400 in the UK.

The outage is affecting both the app and website, with neither working for us. We're getting a "something went wrong" message, with no posts loading.

A quiet day on X

(Image credit: X)

If you're seeing the message above for X on desktop or in the mobile app, you're not alone.

The social media site appears to be experiencing a big Monday outage, with the reports of issues in the US now at over 40,000 on Downdetector.

That's the kind of number we haven't seen since its last big outage in November 2025. Let's hope for the sake of memes and hot-takes that this one doesn't last as long...

Where do we go now?

Unfortunately, one of the best places to go for information during major outages is still... X. And it obviously isn't possible to contact the @Support account either.

Many users are using the Downdetector comments section as a place of refuge, with many stating that (like us) no posts are showing and neither are profile pages. Let's hope that 'retry' button starts working soon...

The reports continue to spike

(Image credit: Downdetector)

Our hopes that this might be a short, sharp blip appear to be fading – reports of problems on X continue to grow, with the number now at a massive 41,000 in the US. It's down for thousands in the UK too, during the critical lunch hour doomscroll period.

During the site's last big outage in November 2025, Cloudflare issues were the culprit. However, that doesn't seem to be case so far this time, with some outage spikes on Downdetector for both Cloudflare and AWS very minor. The picture should hopefully become clearer soon.

Signs of progress?

(Image credit: Downdetector)

There's been a small dip in the number of Downdetector reports for X in the last 15 minutes or so. It's now down to just over 37,000 reports, from a high of 42,845 at 8.34am ET / 1.34pm GMT.

It still isn't working for me at the time of writing with the desktop site showing a black screen, but that could mean a fix is working for some regions.

If you're in the US and are looking for something to replace your daily doomscroll, I'd recommend checking out our pick of the Presidents' Day deals. They're more fun than looking at a black screen, anyway.

X isn't exactly flourishing

(Image credit: X)

Seeing as X is still down for most of us right now, it feels timely to mention another recent X problem that had a somewhat comical conclusion.

As reported by Futurism, many users were recently puzzled to discover that the site's dark blue 'dim' theme had disappeared. When they complained on X (when the site was working), X’s head of product Nikita Bier replied that "we don’t have the capacity to support more than two colors right now", but that "we are looking into lightening the black on web.”

Leaving aside that baffling reply, is today's outage related to X's promised color tweaks? No, but it is another amusing X anecdote that suggests the site isn't exactly firing on all cylinders right now. In fact, none of its cylinders are firing, because it's still very much down right now...

The error messages continue

(Image credit: X)

The number of Downdetector reports for X is continuing to drop, which is a promising sign – it's now down to just over 25,000 reports in the US, from a peak of just over 41,000 at 8.42am ET / 1.42pm GMT.

Yet many of us are continuing to get error messages, so I thought I'd bring you one I haven't seen before to tide us over. The one above in the Android app explains that posts can't be retrieved and to "please try again later".

Seeing as X is making a habit of going down these days, I might start collecting these error messages and start a bingo game.

Moving in the right direction

(Image credit: Downdetector)

Good news for fans of freshly cooked hot-takes and memes – X appears to be back online after an outage that last for over an hour.

The number of reports on Downdetector has plummeted to just over 8,000 in the US, and a little over 2,000 in the UK. Given there's usually a slight delay between Downdetector reports and reality, I'd say the issue is now largely fixed for most (including me).

There's been no official post saying what caused the outage and everyone is now posting like nothing happened. Including the fact that Apple has just announced a special event for March 4 in New York...

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So many Discord users are flocking to this alternative platform, it's making Stoat crash

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• Discord's age verification plans are pushing users to alternative platforms
• Stoat, previously known as Revolt, is having capacity issues coping with an influx of Discord leavers
• Discord is seemingly sticking to its plan to enact global age verification measures in March

---

Discord hasn't done itself any favors so far this year, with plans to implement age verification measures globally on the platform in March, following the introduction of the policy for UK users due to the Online Safety Act. Those changes are still weeks away, but the impact is already clear.

As reported by Destructoid, an alternative Discord platform, Stoat, is facing capacity issues due to a large number of Discord users leaving the service to avoid these age verification plans.

Stoat's status page indicates that performance on the social platform has gone downhill, with a note stating that: "There's simply too many people, but we're trying our best."

It's worth noting that Stoat was previously named Revolt, but rebranded in 2025, keeping the same team and maintaining the app's interface.

Fortunately for those flocking to Stoat, the interface resembles Discord's, but with the benefit of free themes and customization (whereas with Discord, this is locked behind the Nitro subscription paywall).

Stoat

Stoat

The battle for Discord deserters

While servers and voice chats are available on Stoat, there are no screen sharing options, which might be deal-breaker for many (I know it is for me).

That hasn't stopped a flood of people from joining the platform, though, and since Discord is showing no signs of reversing its ID verification plans, we'll likely see more defectors heading to various alternative services (such such as Root).

It's likely there'll be quite the battle to grab the attention of those who are fleeing from Discord.

While ID verification isn't compulsory, those who don't undergo the process will have 'teen-by-default' settings, which limits quite a number of facets of the Discord experience, and is far from ideal.

The other part of the controversy here, of course, is Discord's data breach in 2025. That has left some people understandably skeptical, with trust issues around handing over personal data, with many seemingly unwilling to take that chance.

The question is: at what point might the numbers of exiting members cause Discord to rethink its current stance on ID verification?

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Microsoft's new Windows 11 update fixes nasty bug that left gamers staring at the dreaded 'Black Screen of Death'

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• Windows 11 has been suffering with a bug that causes black-screen crashes for gamers with a 'security check failure' error
• Microsoft has admitted to the glitch, and tells us that it's now fixed
• The fix is in the most recent February update for Windows 11, alongside one for problems with connecting to certain Wi-Fi networks

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Microsoft has confirmed that some Windows 11 gamers have been suffering from a bug that causes their PC to completely lock up — but the good news is that the February update packs a cure for this.

Windows Latest reports that the bug causes the dreaded Black Screen of Death (BSOD – which used to be blue, of course), whereby the system requires a restart. The telltale sign of this glitch is that the screen itself carries a 'Kernel Security Check Failure' error message.

The tech site notes that testers have also been running into this problem of late (although they get green-colored error screens), as well as those running the full version of Windows 11 — and this has been an issue in the distant past, too.

Windows Latest highlights a Microsoft Feedback Hub post with a complaint about Genshin Impact crashing, and there are Reddit posts about the problem, too (for example this one detailing issues with Marvel Rivals).

Microsoft says the problem is now resolved in the release notes for the February update: "[Graphics] Fixed: This update addresses an issue where certain GPU configurations might recently have experienced a system error related to dxgmms2.sys, resulting in the Kernel_Security_Check_Failure error."

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Analysis: Wi-Fi-related side-effects and Microsoft's reputational issues

(Image credit: Future)

A good few reports of trouble with GPUs of late in Windows 11 have been focused on Nvidia graphics cards, with Team Green itself observing there was a problem with the January update causing not just black-screen crashes, but visual corruption of various kinds (like screen flickering).

However, Microsoft has indicated that all graphics cards may experience this particular black-screen error with the security check failure, so presumably AMD and Intel GPUs could also be hit by this unfortunate bug.

Not anymore, thankfully, since the February update has arrived. You should have been offered that upgrade by now, so if you are suffering black-screen crashes then it should be a priority to install. In fact, we saw this cure arrive in the January preview update at the end of last month (which, of course, is the beta of the February update — so it's not a shock that the fix was present here, and some of you may already have it if you grabbed that optional update).

That said, there's a twist in the tale here, because if you did install the January preview update, this had a fresh bug that stopped Windows 11 connecting to certain Wi-Fi networks using WPA3 (the cutting-edge wireless encryption standard).

So, if you've had difficulty hooking up to some Wi-Fi networks after installing that most recent optional update, you'll want to get the February update, which also fixes this WPA3 issue.

It's not the first time we've seen a fix applied, only for another bug to emerge (albeit only in preview this time). And gaming-related bugs certainly aren't new, and have been depressingly regular occurrences with Windows 11 since the 24H2 update, so this latest glitch won't help Microsoft's reputation in this regard — a reputation the company is hoping to repair this year, let's not forget...

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NYT Strands hints and answers for Monday, February 16 (game #715)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands 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 Sunday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Sunday, February 15 (game #714).

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 #715) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… The cutting edge

NYT Strands today (game #715) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• SPORE
• JEST
• WORST
• BOATING
• THING
• PINT

NYT Strands today (game #715) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 13 letters

NYT Strands today (game #715) - hint #4 - spangram position

What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: left, 5th row

Last side: bottom, 6th column

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

NYT Strands today (game #715) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #715, are…

• JUMP
• LIFT
• LOOP
• COMBO
• CROSSOVER
• THROW
• SPIN
• SPANGRAM: FIGURESKATING

---

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 hint

---

Seeing a rare letter like J in the game is a big leg up to getting a word, but after finding JUMP I need some more assistance so took a hint. LIFT didn’t help me make sense of what we were searching for either.

On a quest for more non-game words I discovered skating, then FIGURESKATING and finally caught on to our Winter Olympics-themed diversion.

I’m enjoying the events from Italy, but I do think there should be more multi-sport events like there is for athletics. Maybe something that combined the skeleton, snowboarding and curling would be a hit? Also, considering how big a part they’re playing in the coverage, they may as well have a drone race to the top of the mountain and back.

---

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Sunday, February 15, game #714)

• GRASP
• APPREHEND
• FATHOM
• UNDERSTAND
• REALIZE
• SPANGRAM: SEETHELIGHT

---

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which 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.

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NYT Connections hints and answers for Monday, February 16 (game #981)

Looking for a different day?

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 Sunday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Sunday, February 15 (game #980).

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 #981) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• BUCK
• SCREAM
• DO
• LAUGH
• FAWN
• DOE
• FLIGHT
• SQUAWK
• HOOT
• FIGHT
• RIOT
• DOUGH
• FREEZE
• CACKLE
• DOH
• CLUCK

NYT Connections today (game #981) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• YELLOW: Very funny 
• GREEN: All sound the same
• BLUE: Fowl noises 
• PURPLE: Strong reactions

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 #981) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: KNEE SLAPPER 
• GREEN: HOMOPHONES 
• BLUE: SOUNDS A CHICKEN MAKES 
• PURPLE: STRESS RESPONSES 

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

NYT Connections today (game #981) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #981, are…

• YELLOW: KNEE SLAPPER HOOT, LAUGH, RIOT, SCREAM
• GREEN: HOMOPHONES DO, DOE, DOH, DOUGH
• BLUE: SOUNDS A CHICKEN MAKES BUCK, CACKLE, CLUCK, SQUAWK
• PURPLE: STRESS RESPONSES FAWN, FIGHT, FLIGHT, FREEZE

---

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 3 mistakes

---

Despite the minor thrill of getting the answers in the perfect difficulty order I found this game really annoying.

Perhaps I shouldn’t have begun by singing “Doe a deer, a female deer” and thus trapping myself into making up a group of words that in my ignorance I thought were about animals – DOE, FAWN, BUCK and HOOT (that’ll be what you call a baby owl right?).

I redirected and made another mistake before I got KNEE SLAPPER, as I had CACKLE instead of RIOT (I was thinking these were all exclamations).

My bad run didn’t end there, though, as I had FAWN instead of BUCK in the group that became SOUNDS A CHICKEN MAKES. Frankly, a chicken would have done a better job of today’s game than I did.

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Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Sunday, February 15, game #980)

• YELLOW: REFERENCE BOOKS ATLAS, DICTIONARY, ENCYCLOPEDIA, THESAURUS
• GREEN: SOMETHING THAT BRINGS BACK MEMORIES ECHO, REMINDER, TRACE, VESTIGE
• BLUE: KINDS OF COMPLEXES ELECTRA, INFERIORITY, OEDIPUS, SUPERIORITY
• PURPLE: STARTING WITH WAYS TO REACH SOMEONE VIA PHONE BUZZARD, CALLIOPE, DIALECT, RINGMASTER

---

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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NYT Strands hints and answers for Sunday, February 15 (game #714)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands 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 Saturday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Saturday, February 14 (game #713).

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 #714) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… "Now I get it!"

NYT Strands today (game #714) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• GREAT
• HERD
• THEME
• SPARE
• DATE
• GRAPH

NYT Strands today (game #714) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 11 letters

NYT Strands today (game #714) - hint #4 - spangram position

What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: left, 1st column

Last side: bottom, 4th column

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

NYT Strands today (game #714) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #714, are…

• GRASP
• APPREHEND
• FATHOM
• UNDERSTAND
• REALIZE
• SPANGRAM: SEETHELIGHT

---

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 hint

---

Zs in words where we would have Ss – as in today’s REALIZE – is an issue for Strands players in the UK, but that’s no excuse for my slow play today (that’ll have a bit more to do with the hangover I’m nursing).

"Now I get it!" are the words I often say to myself when I finally UNDERSTAND the day’s theme, but I absolutely did not get it today and took a hint after finding half a dozen non-game words.

The word GRASP helped me, erm, grasp the search at hand although I’d argue comprehend may have fitted better in this game than APPREHEND – but then my fields of perception are decidedly blurred.

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Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Saturday, February 14, game #713)

• EMBRACE
• SNUGGLE
• SMACK
• PECK
• SMOOCH
• CUDDLE
• SPANGRAM: HUGSANDKISSES

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What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which 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.

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NYT Connections hints and answers for Sunday, February 15 (game #980)

Looking for a different day?

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 Saturday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Saturday, February 14 (game #979).

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 #980) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• CALLIOPE
• SUPERIORITY
• RINGMASTER
• ATLAS
• OEDIPUS
• BUZZARD
• ECHO
• ELECTRA
• TRACE
• DIALECT
• INFERIORITY
• DICTIONARY
• THESAURUS
• REMINDER
• ENCYCLOPEDIA
• VESTIGE

NYT Connections today (game #980) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• YELLOW: Informative volumes
• GREEN: The stirring of recollections
• BLUE: Psychological issues
• PURPLE: Starting with analog contacts

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 #980) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: REFERENCE BOOKS
• GREEN: SOMETHING THAT BRINGS BACK MEMORIES
• BLUE: KINDS OF COMPLEXES
• PURPLE: STARTING WITH WAYS TO REACH SOMEONE VIA PHONE

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

NYT Connections today (game #980) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #980, are…

• YELLOW: REFERENCE BOOKS ATLAS, DICTIONARY, ENCYCLOPEDIA, THESAURUS
• GREEN: SOMETHING THAT BRINGS BACK MEMORIES ECHO, REMINDER, TRACE, VESTIGE
• BLUE: KINDS OF COMPLEXES ELECTRA, INFERIORITY, OEDIPUS, SUPERIORITY
• PURPLE: STARTING WITH WAYS TO REACH SOMEONE VIA PHONE BUZZARD, CALLIOPE, DIALECT, RINGMASTER

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• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 mistake

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I am sure there are more than the four stated KINDS OF COMPLEXES among today’s tiles and this is where I made my mistake – including RINGMASTER instead of ELECTRA. I’m imagining the ringmaster complex as someone who has to take control and conduct any social event, in the manner of a circus ringmaster. Could be a thing, surely?

Anyway, somehow I added ELECTRA and minimized my mistakes to just one.

I am old enough to be familiar with many of the words that featured in STARTING WITH WAYS TO REACH SOMEONE VIA PHONE – a list that’s missing bell and tinkle. Incidentally did you know that the inventor of the telephone Alexander Graham Bell’s suggested greeting when answering was “ahoy hoy”? Very civilized.

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Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Saturday, February 14, game #979)

• YELLOW: UPTICK HIKE, JUMP, RISE, SPIKE
• GREEN: PROTUBERANCE BUMP, HUMP, LUMP, MOUND
• BLUE: TOM HANKS ROLES GUMP, PHILLIPS, SULLY, WOODY
• PURPLE: WORDS BEFORE "MINT" BREATH, JUNIOR, PEPPER, SPEAR

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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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Corsair's pricey DDR5 RAM now comes in very different packaging — and it's all about foiling RAM scammers

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• Corsair has new packaging for its DDR5 RAM
• Some kits are in a sealed plastic clamshell rather than a cardboard box
• Lower-tier RAM still comes in the old box, but a security label is being added

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Corsair has introduced countermeasures with its product packaging designed to foil scammers who are stealing memory sticks by swapping them out for old RAM modules and returning these fakes to retailers.

Tom's Hardware highlighted a Corsair blog post in which the memory manufacturer explains that it has changed the packaging for some of its RAM.

With Corsair's Vengeance DDR5 RAM kits with two sticks (for example, a 32GB kit which consists of a pair of 16GB modules), the company has switched to using a sealed plastic clamshell rather than a cardboard box. This is with its RGB memory, and also the plain DDR5 sticks with no fancy lights.

This means the RAM is clearly visible to the buyer before they purchase the item, and indeed it's easily inspected by staff at retailers to help combat incidents of fake returns, as mentioned at the outset. Corsair notes that people are switching products out for 'non-genuine modules', which are usually ancient (effectively worthless) RAM from an old PC, or even just dummy RGB lighting modules as seen recently (see the image below).

As an additional measure, the clamshell packaging has a 'tamper-evident belly label' so you can clearly see if it's been opened before.

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Analysis: clamshells and security labels are likely to become more prevalent

(Image credit: Corsair)

It's a sorry state of affairs, really, but this is where the RAM crisis has led us. DDR5 RAM has become so ridiculously expensive that it's as much of a target now as seriously pricey high-end graphics cards. (These have famously been victims of similar return-related scams, where buyers have ended up purchasing a GPU box that has a rock in it, or a lump of metal, or perhaps a bag of rice).

So, it's not surprising that Corsair has taken action in this way with these pricier products in their most common variant (dual-stick RAM kits, because you want your memory split into two modules for the fastest operating speeds).

In case you were wondering, Corsair's lower-tier RAM modules still come in a traditional paper box format. However, the memory maker clarifies that these will get a security label on the box for some additional protection from scammers, in an update that's seemingly rolling out soon.

The new packaging for DDR5 modules is already here, and indeed has been in place for over a month, so you may have caught sight of it in retailers (as this Redditor did a couple of weeks back).

Not everyone is a fan of this clamshell plastic packaging, mind, as sometimes it really isn't easy to get into, degenerating into quite a struggle if you only have a flimsy pair of scissors to try to carve your way into the pack. Also, plastic is not an ideal choice in terms of the environment. Corsair does make it clear that these cases are made from recycled materials, though, and I think it's a fair enough move to try and outfox the scammers, especially given the kind of expenditure consumers are making to grab a good DDR5 kit these days.

It's entirely possible that other RAM makers may implement similar moves to help combat scammers.

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Have an old Mac, iPhone, or iPad gathering dust? Get down to Best Buy right now to trade it in for generous savings on new Apple products

What to do with old tech can be a bit of a pain, especially if said gadgets are from premium brands like Apple. While it can be handy to have a spare secondary iPhone or iPad to hand in case a newer model goes wrong, sometimes such devices can sit in a drawer or cupboard and just gather dust.

Trading in Apple items to get a newer version is one way around that, but the trade-in values aren’t always great. But as we approach the Presidents’ Day sales, Best Buy is running an ‘Apple Trade-up Event’, offering some compelling value estimates for people looking to upgrade a whole host of Apple devices.

“You can apply the value of your trade-in to the purchase of your new Apple device of the same product family. Or you can bring your old device to a Best Buy store and trade it in for a Best Buy Gift Card,” the retailer explains. “Your old tech will either be refurbished and given a second life or recycled responsibly.”

Sign up for a My Best Buy membership
To get the best trade-in prices and extra option from the Apple Trade-up Event, can I reccomend signing up for a My Best Buy membership. This will also help you get better deals at best Buy this Presidents' Day and in general. View Deal

As an example of some trade-in prices, you can save up to $500 off the price of a new iPad by trading in a 12.9-inch iPad Pro, but even trading in models like the somewhat aged iPad mini can still net a $200 saving.

Want to upgrade to the iPhone 17? Then, if you have an iPhone 15 Pro Max or iPhone 15 Pro, you can save $300 and $275, respectively.

Want the latest M4 MacBooks and have an M3 MacBook Pro or M2 MacBook Air? Then there’s the potential to save $800 and $450.

And savings can be had on Mac desktops too, though I’d say those trade-in values aren’t quite as generous as the others. The same sort of applies to Apple Watch trade-ins, but there's still scope to knock a decent chunk of change off a new Apple Watch if you have an older one that’s going unused or feels outdated.

Trade-ins get better for My Best Buy Plus and Total members, as they can save an extra 10% on qualifying Apple devices, get up to two years of AppleCare+ included in most new purchases, and for Total members, there’s an extra option to get free basic data transfer either in-store or remotely.

So if you’re after new Apple devices and have older ones you’re willing to part with, I’d suggest now’s the time to buy at Best Buy.

Best Buy Members sale quick links

• Sign up for a My Best Buy membership
• Apple: deals from $74.99
• All-new AirPods Pro 3: get a $20 reward
• Appliances: up to 50% off major appliances
• Cheap TVs: Fire TVs from $59.99
• Gaming: consoles & games from $19.99
• Headphones: Sony, JBL & Beats from $9.99
• iPhone 17: up to $1,100 off with trade-in
• Kitchen: coffee makers + air fryers from $49.99
• Laptops: up to $500 off
• Security cameras: $200 off Arlo, SimpliSafe & Ring
• Smartwatch: up to $140 off Samsung, Garmin & Apple
• Tablets: iPads & Fire tablets from $129
• TVs: up to $800 off QLED and 4K TVs
• Vacuums: Shark from $99.99

More of today's best Presidents' Day sales

• Amazon: 45% off TVs, AirPods, air fryers & vacuums
• Apple: iPads, AirPods & MacBooks from $99
• Best Buy: $1,000 off TVs, laptops & headphones
• Dell: laptop deals from $249.99
• Home Depot: 40% off appliances, furniture, grills & tools
• Lenovo: 45% off laptops & tablets
• Lowe's: up to 40% off appliances, furniture & tools
• Samsung: up to $2,000 off appliances, TVs & phones
• Target: 40% off clothing, tech & furniture
• Walmart: furniture, cheap TVs & vacs from $69
• Wayfair: 54% off furniture, rugs & decor

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'Our goal is to create a wholly immersive experience unlike any other in video games' — Saber Interactive's John Wick game already has me sold thanks to the simple fact that Keanu Reeves is returning for his iconic role

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• Saber Interactive has announced its "Untitled John Wick Game" in development for PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC
• The third-person action game is an original story set in the movie franchise timeline
• Keanu Reeves will return for the role, lending his look and face for the project

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Saber Interactive has announced its new AAA project will be a John Wick game featuring the return of actor Keanu Reeves in an original story set in the film franchise universe.

Revealed alongside an action-packed teaser trailer at the Sony State of Play Showcase for February 12, the "Untitled John Wick Game" is a third-person action game currently in development for PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC.

John Wick's story seemingly ended with the John Wick: Chapter 4 movie in 2023, but the fact that Saber is delving into the world with what it's calling its own "original gameplay narrative set in the John Wick timeline years before the "Impossible Task" has me really intrigued.

What's more, Keanu Reeves, the face behind the titular role, is also back and will lend his look and voice for the game's iteration of the character.

"John Wick is one of the most iconic characters in action film history. Saber is honored to be working alongside Chad, Keanu and the Lionsgate team in a true collaboration to bring the world of Wick to life in a AAA game," said Matthew Karch, CEO at Saber Interactive in a press release.

The project will be tailored for mature audiences, so we should expect a lot of bloody fist fights and shootouts, and it will also expand on the franchise's lore with familiar characters, as well as new ones.

Saber Interactive, the studio behind Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, John Carpenter's Toxic Commando, and more, will also combine the John Wick "gun-fu" combat, cinematic locations, and the movie's unique style of camerawork to mimic the action the franchise is so known for.

"Our goal is to create a wholly immersive experience unlike any other in video games," said game director Jesus Iglesias in a PlayStation blog post. "Something that blurs the line between movies and video games, making it something truly special. We are creating new, high-stakes, fully interactive mechanics that make players feel like they are in a John Wick movie, by playing the role of the Baba Yaga himself."

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Despite the first game's Xbox exclusivity deal, PlayStation is 'still our lead platform' says Squanch Games CEO as High on Life 2 launches this week

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• Squanch Games CEO Mike Fridley says the PS5 version of High on Life 2 is the studio's leading platform despite the first game's Xbox exclusivity deal
• Unlike the first game, the High on Life sequel is launching simultaneously on Xbox and PlayStation
• Fridley says it was "kind of an easy business decision, as far as just looking at sales numbers on the first [game]"

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Squanch Games CEO Mike Fridley has said releasing High on Life 2 simultaneously on Xbox and PlayStation was a "no-brainer" following the first game's long Xbox exclusivity window.

In an interview with TechRadar Gaming ahead of the game's release this week, Fridley discussed the decision to bring the High on Life sequel to all platforms at the same time, following a deal with Microsoft that saw the first game exclusive to Xbox for a period of time.

The first High on Life game launched in December 2022 as a console exclusive for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, and PC via Game Pass, and wasn't released on PS4 and PS5 until July 2023.

However, this time around, Squanch Games is launching High on Life 2 on Xbox and PlayStation on the same date, and is even making it available through Xbox Game Pass, which Fridley notes was "definitely part of the consideration" due to Microsoft's help with the original.

Speaking on the sales that the studio may miss out on through Game Pass, Fridley isn't sure if the game's exposure outweighs "the potential cannibalization of sales", but he is sure it will "help establish an IP so getting a bunch of people to play your game," adding, "if your game's good and you want to be a bunch of people to play it, getting it on Game Pass is great."

Even following the first game's success, the CEO added that "we're still in a franchise building mode" and he wants as many people as possible to know about the studio, explaining that "the best way to do that is to give it away and get as many people with their hands on it as possible."

Although High on Life achieved success with its short Xbox deal, Fridley remarked that the PlayStation version of High on Life 2 is its main platform, saying, "shockingly even after a delay on the Sony launch [on PS4 and PS5] – because of an exclusivity clause with the first game that Microsoft had – it's [PlayStation] still our lead platform," Fridley said.

When asked if that was a factor in the sequel getting a simultaneous launch on PlayStation, he said, "That was a no-brainer, like our lead platform is Sony, Steam is right behind it as far as units sold."

He continued: "If you're a PlayStation player, you're going to buy it on PlayStation. You're not going to play it on Game Pass, and with the recent subscription increase on Game Pass, I'm sure they've probably seen subscriber numbers go down a bit; so those people have to play it somewhere."

Despite Fridley's comment, it's worth mentioning that we can't prove that Xbox Game Pass subscriber numbers have lowered due to the recent price hikes.

"It was kind of an easy business decision, as far as just looking at sales numbers on the first one and not having that exclusivity this time around to launch it on all platforms," Fridley said, adding that outside of sales, "it's just cheaper. We don't have to do two marketing pushes… we're just piggybacking off our own marketing to sell the same copy."

High on Life 2 launches on PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC tomorrow (February 13), with a Nintendo Switch 2 release slated for April 20.

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'These updates raise the bar for security and privacy on Windows': Microsoft has a plan to toughen up Windows 11's defenses

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• Microsoft is going to bolster Windows 11's security levels
• A 'Windows Baseline Security Mode' will mean that only properly signed apps and drivers will be allowed to run
• A permissions system for apps will be enacted in a similar vein to what we see on smartphones now

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Windows 11 is set to get tighter levels of security, with Microsoft proposing a stronger baseline level of defenses, and an app-by-app permission system of 'allow access' prompts that'll be familiar to users of the best Android phones and best iPhones.

Windows Latest highlighted that Microsoft just published a blog post discussing the ways in which it's going to toughen up Windows 11 security-wise.

Microsoft describes the issue thus: "[Windows 11] users are increasingly seeing apps override their settings, install additional software or alter core Windows experiences without their awareness or consent.

"And your feedback is clear: Windows must both remain an open platform and be secure by default – protecting the integrity of your experience regardless of the apps installed. Our developers and ecosystem partners echo this need."

There's a line between convenience and security here, which Microsoft is effectively looking to shift a bit towards the latter. While it's all well and good to not get hit by security prompts, and be able to install whatever you want (from wherever) without interference from the OS, the software giant clearly feels that it's erred too far towards this side of the equation, and wants to rebalance in favor of tighter defenses.

One of the central pillars of what Microsoft is actioning is a 'Windows Baseline Security Mode' whereby various safeguards will be enabled by default. The upshot is that Windows 11 will only allow properly signed (certified by Microsoft) apps and drivers to run.

There will be ways to circumvent this protection – should you have legacy apps, for example, that aren't signed, and you know they're safe. But by default, Windows 11 won't allow for using unsigned apps to better protect users.

The other big move here is improving user transparency and consent, meaning app permissions. As noted at the outset, Microsoft is gravitating towards a smartphone model of security whereby apps must get permission before accessing your camera, or microphone, for example – you must actively 'allow' this. The idea is to stop apps sneakily gaining access to your webcam or other hardware.

Similarly, if an app is trying to stealthily install other software – something malicious, or unwanted – user permission will be required.

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Analysis: paving the way for AI agents

(Image credit: AI)

While this isn't a concrete vision of the future of security in Windows 11, the blog post makes it sound like all this is happening, albeit that it'll take time, and will "roll out through a phased approach". Microsoft also stresses that it'll be taking feedback into account as it goes along in order to refine these concepts.

While more permission prompts on the Windows 11 desktop may sound a bit tiresome on the face of it, a tighter level of security is a good idea in many ways. Especially considering that, with Windows being the most prevalent desktop OS by far, users are targeted by a lot of the malware out there. (Don't make the mistake of thinking Macs are invulnerable to malware, mind you, especially not these days).

There's something else going on as an undercurrent here, though, in my opinion, which is that this is all about building up trust in Windows 11 ahead of the release of AI agents in the operating system.

Arguably, trust in Windows 11 is at an all-time low as more and more bugs creep into the operating system – and Microsoft has promised to do better in this respect already (as well as with addressing sluggish performance in some areas of the OS).

How can Microsoft expect people to let AI agents loose on their files, and trust these entities if Windows 11 can't even be kept remotely bug-free with basic parts of the interface? This is a major problem, one that Microsoft must see, and this security work is likely a part of addressing these trust issues, and restoring Windows 11's reputation so that it's seen as a more robust and reliable platform.

Notably, Microsoft mentions AI agents in the blog post, observing that: "Apps and AI agents will also be expected to meet higher transparency standards, giving both users and IT administrators better visibility into their behaviors. These updates raise the bar for security and privacy on Windows, while giving you more control and confidence in how your system and data are accessed."

I think the mentioned reputational recovery is vital work to ensure that Windows 11 stands on a good footing going forward, and at least Microsoft appears to be recognizing this – and taking it very seriously.

Ultimately, how this pans out will be in the implementation, and while 'raising the bar' in this way, as Microsoft describes it, is a good idea to keep Windows 11 users more secure, the danger is that if the 'bar' gets in the way of a smooth computing experience in the OS, it could end up being a source of frustration.

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