NYT Connections April 18, 2025 #677 Hints & Answers
Need help with the New York Times Connections puzzle for April 18, 2025? PuzzHelp offers a complete guide with progressive hints, full answers, and insights for today's NYT Connections game #677. Our step-by-step approach helps you learn category patterns and solve challenging word groups without spoiling the fun. Explore hints, answers, and interesting facts about each category below.
Today's Connections Hints
General Hints
Click to reveal a helpful hint about each category in today's game.
One Word from Each Category
Click to reveal one word from each color group to help you get started.
Today's Connections Answers
INTERJECTIONS
BOY, GOODNESS, MAN, WOW
HORROR MOVIES, WITH "THE"
BIRDS, EXORCIST, HAUNTING, SHINING
THINGS YOU CAN PICK
APPLE, BANJO, CARD, NOSE
PERSONAL PROPERTY MINUS "S"
BELONGING, EFFECT, GOOD, POSSESSION
Answer Explanations
Word-by-Word Analysis
BOY
Used as an exclamation to express strong feelings, especially of surprise or emphasis
GOODNESS
An exclamation expressing surprise, alarm, or dismay
MAN
Used as an interjection to express surprise, enthusiasm, or exasperation
WOW
Used to express astonishment, admiration, or excitement
The word 'interjection' comes from Latin 'interjicere,' meaning 'to throw between,' which perfectly describes how these expressions function in language—they're 'thrown between' other parts of speech and sentences to convey emotion. Unlike other parts of speech, interjections don't have grammatical connections to the rest of the sentence, making them unique linguistic elements that can stand alone with exclamation marks.
Word-by-Word Analysis
BIRDS
From Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 film 'The Birds,' where birds suddenly and inexplicably begin attacking people
EXORCIST
From the 1973 film 'The Exorcist,' about the demonic possession of a young girl and the priests who attempt to exorcise the demon
HAUNTING
From 'The Haunting,' a 1963 film (remade in 1999) about a group of people staying in a house believed to be haunted
SHINING
From Stanley Kubrick's 1980 adaptation of Stephen King's novel 'The Shining,' about a family isolated in a haunted hotel during winter
'The Birds' was inspired by a real event that occurred in Capitola, California in 1961, when thousands of sooty shearwaters crashed into homes after becoming disoriented by fog. The incident was later discovered to be caused by domoic acid poisoning from toxic algae, which affected the birds' brains. Hitchcock read about this event in a newspaper, along with Daphne du Maurier's short story of the same name, sparking his inspiration for the film that would become one of cinema's most memorable natural horror classics.
Word-by-Word Analysis
APPLE
A fruit that can be harvested by picking it from a tree
BANJO
A stringed musical instrument that is played by picking the strings with fingers or a plectrum
CARD
In games or fortune telling, one can pick a card from a deck
NOSE
The colloquial phrase 'to pick one's nose' refers to removing mucus with a finger
The verb 'to pick' has over 20 distinct meanings in English, making it one of the most versatile verbs in the language. Its etymology traces back to the Old English 'pīcian,' meaning 'to prick or pierce with a sharp point.' This original meaning evolved into the various forms we use today, from harvesting fruit to selecting items, playing stringed instruments, and even the somewhat impolite nasal activity. The variation in this puzzle showcases the remarkable semantic range of this seemingly simple word.
Word-by-Word Analysis
BELONGING
More commonly used as 'belongings' to refer to items that are owned by someone
EFFECT
Usually appears as 'effects' when referring to personal items or property, especially in legal contexts
GOOD
Typically seen as 'goods' when referring to possessions, merchandise, or commodities
POSSESSION
Often used in the plural form 'possessions' to describe things that someone owns
The phrase 'personal effects' has a fascinating legal history dating back to early English common law, where it originally referred specifically to movable property that would 'follow the person' (hence 'personal') as opposed to real property (land and buildings). In modern estate law, 'personal effects' typically refers to tangible items with sentimental rather than monetary value, such as clothing, jewelry, and photographs. The term appears in countless wills and legal documents with remarkably consistent meaning across centuries of jurisprudence.
Today's Red Herrings
Casual Speech Terms
BOY, MAN, and GOOD(NESS) might initially seem grouped as casual speech or slang terms, distracting from the interjection category.
People and Objects
BOY, MAN, NOSE could appear to form a category related to people or body parts, creating a false pattern.
Musical Connection
BANJO and potentially SHINING (as in 'shining star,' a song reference) might suggest a musical grouping that could lead players astray.
Nature Elements
BIRDS, APPLE, and potentially HAUNTING (as in natural phenomena) might temporarily suggest a nature-related category.
Positive Attributes
GOOD, GOODNESS, SHINING, and WOW could seem like a category about positive qualities or reactions, creating confusion.
Today's Learning Moments
Part of Speech Versatility
This puzzle highlights how many English words can function across multiple parts of speech; for example, BOY and MAN can be both nouns and interjections, demonstrating the flexibility of language.
Cultural Literacy
The horror movie category tests and builds cultural knowledge about classic films, connecting language to broader media literacy and film history.
Polysemy Exploration
The 'THINGS YOU CAN PICK' category showcases polysemy—how a single word ('pick') can have multiple related meanings applied to very different contexts, from fruit harvesting to musical technique to card selection.
Grammatical Number Awareness
The purple category highlights how certain terms conventionally appear in plural form in specific contexts, drawing attention to the nuances of grammatical number in English vocabulary.
Linguistic Conventions
The puzzle illustrates how language often follows unstated conventions, such as why we typically say 'personal belongings' rather than 'personal belonging,' enhancing awareness of natural usage patterns.
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