Note : Make sure to complete today’s NYT Connections before reading further! We’ll be getting into spoilers for today’s game pretty quickly. If you need some help to complete the grid, you can find my NYT Connections hints and answers column for today via my author page .

Hey there, Connectors! Welcome to my deeper dive into today’s Connections answers. The idea behind this is to help clear things up for anyone who isn’t sure how today’s groups fit together.

If I’ve missed any red herrings or misunderstood something, let me know via email or on Discord . I don’t typically look at X or check the comments here.

I’m going to assume that you’ve already beaten today’s game. We’re going straight into spoiler territory here. So, consider this your one and only warning .

Here are today’s NYT Connections answers explained (and any red herrings I spot) for Monday, May 4:

Today’s NYT Connections Answers Explained

Connections – Yellow Group

🟨 tender-hearted person (MARSHMALLOW, SOFTIE, SWEETHEART, TEDDY BEAR)

These are all ways to describe someone who is just really lovely; a kind, generous person. For instance, a TEDDY BEAR is a man (especially one who is heavily built and/or speaks in a brusque or stern manner) who has a heart of gold.

Connections – Green Group

🟩 pellet-filled things (BEANIE BABY, DESSICANT PACKET, EYE PILLOW, HACKY SACK)

Beanie Babies are soft toys that are filled with plastic pellets instead of soft stuffing. They were a hot commodity in the ‘90s and seen as collectibles. Here’s someone explaining to kids today what they were all about:

You’ll often see a DESSICANT PACKET inside a box that contains something the manufacturer is trying to keep try. It’s filled with a material, such as silica gel, that absorbs water vapor.

You might place an EYE PILLOW in a fridge for a while before putting it over your peepers to soothe them. The idea here is that the beads inside the pillow can help it sit snugly over your eyes.

A HACKY SACK is a small, round bag that people kick into the air as part of a game:

🟦 things with knobs (CONTROL PANEL, ETCH A SKETCH, RADIO, STOVE)

CONTROL PANEL here could be something like a thermostat with a dial or a soundboard for recording or playing music.

ETCH A SKETCH is a classic mechanical drawing toy that’s been around since the ‘60s. If you’ve seen Toy Story , you’ll know what it is:

An analog RADIO typically has tuning and volume dials. Many STOVEs have dials that are used to control heat levels.

Connections – Purple Group

🟪 starting with familiar names for kinds of dogs (CHOWDER, DOODLEBUG, LABUBU, PITTER-PATTER)

  • CHOWDER > chow > chow chow
  • DOODLEBUG > doodle > goldendoodle, labradoodle, sheepadoodle etc
  • LABUBU > lab > labrador
  • PITTER-PATTER > pit > pitbull

Connections – Red Herrings

TEDDY BEAR, BEANIE BABY, ETCH A SKETCH and LABUBU are (or were at one point) very popular toys.

If you’d like to chat about today’s game of Connections and just about anything else with me and a very lovely group of people, you can do just that in our Discord community . We’d love for you to hang out with us.

I’ll be back with another set of NYT Connections hints and answers tomorrow, as well as another edition of this one, all going well. You’ll be able to find both of those on my Forbes author page when the time comes (following me there helps me out too!). As for the weekend editions of my NYT Connections hints and answers column, I’m currently doing that via my newsletter, Pastimes .