NYT Connections Hints August 13: Answers for Puzzle #794 Today

 Spoiler Warning: Group categories below! Ready to know what connects each group? Here are the categories without the specific words:

• Yellow: CAPTIVATE
• Green: EXCERPT
• Blue: MEMBER OF A GIRL GROUP
• Purple: STAR____

Today's Answers

 Full Spoiler Alert: Complete answers below!

 Yellow Group: "CAPTIVATE"

• CHARM
• ENTRANCE
• RIVET
• THRILL

These words all mean to captivate, fascinate, or hold someone's complete attention. When you charm someone, you captivate them. To entrance is to fill with delight and wonder. Rivet means to hold someone's attention completely, and thrill means to cause excitement.

 Green Group: "EXCERPT"

• CLIP
• EXTRACT
• PASSAGE
• QUOTE

All of these words refer to portions or excerpts taken from larger works. A clip from a video, an extract from a book, a passage from a text, or a quote from a speech - they're all snippets of larger content.

 Blue Group: "MEMBER OF A GIRL GROUP"

• BANGLE (The Bangles - "Walk Like an Egyptian," "Eternal Flame")
• CHICK (The Chicks, formerly Dixie Chicks - "Goodbye Earl," "Wide Open Spaces")
• GO-GO (The Go-Go's - "We Got the Beat," "Vacation")
• SUPREME (The Supremes - "Stop! In the Name of Love," "You Can't Hurry Love")

Each word represents a member of a famous girl group. These are singular forms of the band names: The Bangles, The Chicks, The Go-Go's, and The Supremes.

 Purple Group: "STAR____"

• BOARD (Starboard - the right side of a ship)
• FISH (Starfish - a marine animal)
• GATE (Stargate - a portal, also a famous sci-fi franchise)
• STRUCK (Starstruck - overwhelmed by meeting a celebrity)

Each word can follow "STAR" to create a compound word or common phrase. The "twinkle, twinkle" hint referred to "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."

Why This Puzzle Was Tricky

Red Herrings and Misdirections:

• ENTRANCE and PASSAGE could seem like they belong together as physical spaces you move through
• CHARM and BANGLE might appear connected since both can be jewelry items
• BOARD and GATE could seem related in an airport context (boarding gate)
• FISH and CHICK are both animals, which might throw you off
• The Girl Group category was particularly clever - you need to know these band names to make the connection

Tips and Strategies

How to Approach Today's Puzzle:

• Start with Yellow (CAPTIVATE): These synonyms are often the easiest to spot once you recognize them as verbs meaning "to fascinate"
• Look for the Green group (EXCERPT): If you work with text or video, these editing terms might jump out at you
• The Blue group (GIRL GROUPS) requires pop culture knowledge - if you're stuck, think about famous bands from different eras
• Save Purple for last (STAR___): Compound words are classic NYT Connections fodder

General NYT Connections Strategy:

• Read all 16 words first - Don't jump to conclusions
• Look for obvious groups - Usually yellow or green
• Consider multiple meanings - "Entrance" can be a noun or verb
• Watch for proper nouns - Band names, brands, etc.
• Think about wordplay - Especially for purple categories
• Use mistakes strategically - You have 4 wrong guesses

About NYT Connections

NYT Connections is the New York Times' addictive daily word puzzle created by Wyna Liu. Players must find four groups of four words that share a common thread, with categories ranging from straightforward to cleverly deceptive.

The puzzle resets daily at midnight ET, with difficulty levels indicated by colors:

•  Yellow (Easiest)
•  Green (Easy-Medium)
•  Blue (Medium-Hard)
•  Purple (Hardest - often wordplay)

Play Today's Puzzle

Ready to test yourself? Play NYT Connections at nytimes.com/games/connections or through the NYT Games app.

Yesterday's Puzzle

Missed yesterday's puzzle? Monday, August 12's Connections (#793) featured categories about kitchen items, weather phenomena, types of dance, and words that can follow "FIRE."

Check back tomorrow for hints and answers to Thursday's NYT Connections puzzle #795!