Here are some clues and answers for the March 16 NYT Connections puzzle #1009
Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, CNET editor-in-chief, journalist and pop culture junkie, is co-author of “Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the ’70s and ’80s,” as well as “The Totally Sweet ’90s.” She has been a journalist since 1989 and works for Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune and NBC News Digital. She is part of Generation X in terms of date of birth, words and deeds. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she’ll be first in line.
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- Co-author of two Gen X pop culture encyclopedias for Penguin Books. Won the “Headline Writer of the Year” award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in the Society for Features Journalism 2013 headline writing.
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Today’s NYT Connections puzzle isn’t easy, but I enjoyed the puns in the purple group. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.
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Learn more: Tips, Tricks and Strategies to Help You Win Every Time on NYT Connections
Tips for Today’s Connections Groups
Here are four clues for today’s Connections puzzle groupings, ordered from the easiest yellow group to the difficult (and sometimes weird) purple group.
Yellow group index: Critters in a crowd.
Green group index: Not quickly.
Blue group index: Silent letter.
Purple group index: States, but shorter.
Answers for Today’s Connections groups
Yellow group: Names of groups of animals.
Green Group: Things associated with slowness.
Blue group: silent “w”.
Purple group: Words that sound like state abbreviations.
Learn more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections answers?
NYT Connections puzzle completed by March 16, 2026.
NYT/Screenshot by CNETYellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is animal group names. The four answers are the group, the pack, the group and the pride.
Green words in today’s Connections
The theme is things associated with slowness. The four answers are glaciers, molasses, laziness and traffic.
Blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is a silent “w”. The four answers are Cartwright, two, anger and struggle.
Purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is words that resemble state abbreviations. The four answers are any (NE), Emmy (ME), want (NV), and ok (OK).