The Jan. 15 edition of Connections: Sports Edition, puzzle No. 479, proved to be a head-scratcher for many players. Published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times, the puzzle requires knowledge of team history, league names and even wordplay on famous athletes.
At a Glance
- Purple category swapped first letters of Yankees legends
- Serie A clubs appeared in the green grouping
- A benches-clearing brawl inspired the blue answers
- Why it matters: Word-game fans who double as sports buffs get a daily brain workout
The puzzle is not found in the NYT Games app; instead, it lives inside The Athletic’s own app or can be played free online. Ethan R. Coleman at News Of Los Angeles noted that the purple category in particular demanded both recognition of iconic New York Yankees and the ability to re-imagine their names with altered initials.
Yellow group: Reject a shot
Players needed to find four terms that all describe denying a score:
- Block
- Deny
- Stuff
- Swat
Each word is a common basketball or volleyball phrase for stopping the ball from reaching its target.
Green group: Serie A teams
Italian football knowledge came in handy here. The four answers were:
- Bologna
- Como
- Juventus
- Roma
All are current or historic clubs that compete in Italy’s top-flight league, Serie A.
Blue group: Benches-clearing brawl
Baseball altercations supplied the theme. The quartet of synonyms was:
- Brouhaha
- Fight
- Fracas
- Rhubarb
These words all describe the chaos that erupts when both teams spill onto the field.
Purple group: Yankees greats, with the first letter changed
The trickiest category asked solvers to identify pinstriped legends after shifting their first initials:
- Fudge – a play on Aaron Judge
- Meter – derived from Derek Jeter
- Terra – a twist on Yogi Berra
- Word – a nod to Whitey Ford
Recognizing the famous players was only half the battle; re-imagining their names with swapped letters made the purple set the day’s toughest challenge.
The completed grid showcased how sports vocabulary, team knowledge and a dash of linguistic creativity combine in Connections: Sports Edition. News Of Los Angeles reminds readers that fresh puzzles publish daily for those who enjoy testing both athletic trivia and word-association skills.
