Is NYT's "Connections" Accidental Test P ...

Is NYT's "Connections" Accidental Test Prep?

Sep 23, 2024

A titan of test prep, the Princeton Review, has as its cornerstone the concept of "Joe Bloggs". Who is "Joe Bloggs"? It is more of a "what is..." -- a mindset, if you will. In the process of taking the SAT, it's "knowing that my gut answer is the same as the gut answer of everybody else in this room." Princeton Review founder John Katzman told Frontline in 2013. Princeton Review tutors preach that "on an easy question, go with the gut answer because it works. And on a tough question, eliminate it because for sure it's wrong." The Princeton Review ingeniously drilled down on the mind games played by the SAT. Front and center is the notion that one is, in essence, lulled into a false sense of security with "easy" questions to start -- but to master the test, one must pivot into skepticism. Don't be "Joe Bloggs" because "Joe Bloggs" continues to cruise thinking it must all be going his way. "[W]hatever Joe Bloggs would do--don't do it." Katzman said. "Because it for sure is a wrong answer. If it were right, how come this question's at the end of the test? Why is, why did everybody manage to get this question wrong and somehow it came to you in a flash? It didn't come to you in a flash. The wrong answer came to you in a flash. It's a trick answer."

If it's all a game and healthy skepticism is the order of the day, can the enticing and infuriating New York Times puzzle "Connections" help in test prep? Let's take a look...

In "Connections", you must find the connections between four words -- not three, not five. FOUR. Some links are no-brainers, right at first sight. But hold up. In context, they're not going to be a part of a winning team of four words.

For example: Rocky-Uneven-Rugged-Bumpy would seem to be a correct foursome here. All describe a road you probably want to avoid.

Then you see "Stitch" just floating there without an obvious match. So is "Scratchy". Cartoon fans spot those words and think "Lilo & Stitch" and "Itchy & Scratchy". So you have two cartoon characters. But with "Rocky" of "Rocky & Bullwinkle" you now have three references to cartoon dynamic duos. Add "Chip" of Chip N Dale" and you have four. Stitch-Rocky-Chip-Scratchy.

Thus Rocky-Uneven-Rugged-Bumpy has now collapsed.

Is there a replacement for "Rocky"? "Rough" also links to Rugged-Uneven-Bumpy -- and now you have your foursome for that turbulent surface -- or as the NYT puts it: "not smooth, as terrain."

Were you inclined to see "Stitich" as "You're a stitch, I find you amusing!"? Well, the puzzle is giving you "Amusement" NOT "Amusing" and you're going to hit a wall anyway. "Amusement" belongs with the other rather flavorless words ("National", "Parallel" "South") as a connection to a fill-in-the-blank: "____ Park".

Besides, ask anyone under 50 and they probably don't know the phrase "you're a stitch!"-- but Disney's Stitch is the damn G.O.A.T.

So here are your answers to Sept. 23rd's NYT Connections.

Will you see anything that looks like this on an SAT? No. But is it cross-training for the high school mind? Is it a worthy exercise in the kind of constructive skepticism that's key for test taking? I think so.

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