Find the links between the words to win today's game of Connections.gettyLooking for Sundays Connections hints and answers instead? You can find them here:Hey there, folks! Welcome to the start of a new week.I normally leave the music/movie/game/life recommendations until the end of the column, but Im going to give you a second one today. Simply because its Monday, and we probably could all use a pick-me-up. So turn this one up loud, dance it out and get some of that sweet dopamine flowing:Before we begin, Ive set up a discussion group for Connections and this column on Discord. You can chat about each game (and other topics) with me and other folks. Im always interested to find out how other people approach the game, so join us! Its fun.Its also the best way to give me any feedback about the column, especially on the rare(!) occasions that I mess something up.Todays NYT Connections hints and answers for Monday, February 17, are coming right up.MORE FOR YOUHow To Play ConnectionsConnections is a free, popular New York Times daily word game. You get a new puzzle at midnight every day. You can play on the Youre presented with a grid of 16 words. Your task is to arrange them into four groups of four by figuring out the links between them. The groups could be things like items you can click, names for research study participants or words preceded by a body part.Theres only one solution for each puzzle, and youll need to be careful when it comes to words that might fit into more than one category. You can shuffle the words to perhaps help you see links between them.Each group is color coded. The yellow group is usually the easiest to figure out, blue and green fall in the middle, and the purple group is usually the most difficult one. The purple group often involves wordplay.Select four words you think go together and press Submit. If you make a guess and youre incorrect, youll lose a life. If youre close to having a correct group, you might see a message telling you that youre one word away from getting it right, but youll still need to figure out which one to swap.If you make four mistakes, its game over. Lets make sure that doesnt happen with the help of some hints, and, if youre really struggling, todays Connections answers. As with Wordle and other similar games, its easy to share results with your friends on social media and group chats.If you have an NYT All Access or Games subscription, you can access the publications Connections archive. This includes every previous game of Connections, so you can go back and play any of those that you have missed.Aside from the first 60 games or so, you should be able to find my hints for each grid via Google if you need them! Just click here and add the date of the game for which you need clues or the answers to the search query.What Are Todays Connections Hints?Scroll slowly! Just after the hints for each of todays Connections groups, Ill reveal what the groups are without immediately telling you which words go into them.Todays 16 words are...DOUBLEBLOWSNAKEBREAKLEAVEWINDCATSTRIKESPARERESTSWORDWEAVEVACATIONCURVETURKEYGOLDAnd the hints for todays Connections groups are:Yellow group get away from it allGreen group take the long roadBlue group Purple group "go" and "angel" would fit in hereWhat Are Todays Connections Groups?Need some extra help?Be warned: were starting to get into spoiler territory.Todays Connections groups are...Yellow group time offGreen group follow a meandering courseBlue group bowling resultsPurple group ____fishWhat Are Todays Connections Answers?Spoiler alert! Dont scroll any further down the page until youre ready to find out todays Connections answers.This is your final warning!Todays Connections answers are...Yellow group time off (BREAK, LEAVE, REST, VACATION)Green group follow a meandering course (CURVE, SNAKE, WEAVE, WIND)Blue group bowling results (DOUBLE, SPARE, STRIKE, TURKEY)Purple group ____fish (BLOW, CAT, GOLD, SWORD)Hooray, a perfect game for me today (and I don't mean in bowling). That takes my overall streak up to 11 wins. Here's how I fared: I had no problems at all with this one. I spotted the bowling terms right away. No lie, I got three strikes in a row, a.k.a. a TURKEY, as a kid. Admittedly, it was a type of bowling with smaller balls and pins, but it still counts!I had to use that video for the clue. It made for an easier hint than Id normally like to have for a blue, but I couldnt resist (plus, this is supposed to be fun!).The yellows were next. I had time off over the holidays, but I'm ready for some more please universe, thank you.The greens then jumped out at me, but I had to submit the purples first, because of course I did. I figured out the connection for those before sending them through this time around.With a little more patience, I probably could have had a reverse rainbow here. But as though Id like to be able to write everything out and methodically figure out all the groups and the likely colors for each before submitting anything, Im much too impatient for that.I am an agent of chaos and live life through vibes. I trust my gut and tend to just go with that most of the time. That often leads to mistakes (both in Connections and in life), but the strategy works for me more often than it doesnt. Both in life and in Connections.Thats all there is to it for todays Connections clues and answers. Be sure to check my blog tomorrow for hints and the solution for Tuesdays game if you need them.P.S. I wrote a bit the other day about Tropic Thunder and how much I enjoy silly comedy movies. One Ive always liked thats relevant to todays game is Kingpin, given that bowling is at the heart of the story.It's often vulgar and frequently crosses the line between good and bad taste. But goodness, is it funny:Have a great day! Stay hydrated! Call someone you love!If youre so inclined, please do follow my blog for more coverage of Connections and other word games and even some video game news, insights and analysis. It helps me out a lot! Also, follow me on Bluesky! Its fun there.