Connections

Jan 18^th, 2025 Saturday Sunny

In the summer of 2023, a mini-game on New York Times caught the attention of millions, and became a popular national phenomenon.

This game is called “connections”, with the simple rule that one must find the links that connect four groups of four words. Each day’s puzzle consists of sixteen words (occasionally, pictures), to be classified into yellow, green, blue, and purple categories, ranging from the the most to the least obvious, and there is only one solution. The links can be a common meaning (e.g. jumping into the air), a similar feature (e.g. sharp), objects that show up in a movie/tale, homophones, etc. Some of the links relate to phrases (e.g. turn the tide), and some even refer to only part of the word (e.g. starting with a bird). The possibilities are limitless.

I learned about this game from a friend, while we were playing codename, another linguistic reasoning game. I found the idea intriguing, and it is easily accessible, can usually be finished under ten minutes, and constantly refreshes my knowledge of the English language and Western cultures. Not surprisingly, it has turned into a daily routine for me.

Being reasonably familiar with English (though slangs are hard to grasp), with the help of online dictionary and google search, most of the time I can solve the puzzle relatively quickly, and by myself. Periodically, I would get stuck, and in rare cases asked my husband for hints. Despite what he claims and his apparent disinclination to play codename (at least with me…), he is exceptionally good at figuring out the hidden bond among the words, especially the “weird” ones (e.g. the first three letters of a U.S. city).

Recently, I began to notice that I am increasingly unwilling to ask for the tips from my husband. It is NOT because my skill has dramatically leveled up (though it might have improved a little bit – practice makes perfect, after all). Rather, I have developed more patience and perseverance.

Although there are days that the answers jump out at me immediately (e.g. desserts), and I receive a “perfect!” within two minutes, more often than not I would stare at the four-by-four grid of words for a while, unsure where to start. It could either be because there are too many words I do not know that I need to look up, or because too many words have multiple meanings that suggest many ways of sorting them together. In both cases, I tend to spend quite some time researching/listing out potential sets, and slowly work my way towards the solution.

It is on these days that the victory feels particularly satisfying. And I have not only deepened my understanding of some words, but also trained myself to be more inquisitive and persistent, like a detective. I feel proud of myself.

You might wonder, what if I cannot decipher it regardless of how long I keep at it? Wouldn’t that be a waste of time?

The truth is, as I already mentioned, I eventually arrive at the right answer through effort on most days, even though at first those quests all appeared impossible. I chose not to give up, and those struggles made me more confident in my own abilities, even if no “reward” came at the end.

I believe it is the journey, not just the outcome, that matters.