Get NYT Connections Hints for December 15, 2024. Find hints and solutions for puzzle #553, including word connections and hidden categories.
As a fellow word puzzle enthusiast, I've designed these hints to be progressive to preserve your enjoyment of the game. Please reveal them in order, starting from the top. While official hints and answers are available at the bottom, I strongly encourage you to think through each connection yourself before checking them.
STYLE: Styles come and go, claiming to define what's cool. But what if styles are just insecure trends desperately seeking validation from humans?
Often found in a rack or grinder
Common in baking and cooking spice blends
Spices
MAR: Everyone worries about marring perfect surfaces, but maybe imperfections are just surfaces trying to express their individuality.
Not succeeding with grace
Describes poor performance
Perform poorly
CLOVE: Cloves think they're so special with their intense flavor, but maybe they're just overcompensating for being so small.
Quick movements with reading material
Ways to navigate through paper items
Skim through, as pages
FLOP: When something flops, we call it a failure, but maybe it's just rebelling against society's definition of success.
Short words with multiple meanings
Can be both verbs and nouns
Pop singers minus āsā
ā ļø Spoiler Warning!
We strongly recommend trying to solve the puzzle yourself first! Looking at the answers directly will take away the joy and satisfaction of discovering the connections on your own. If you've already given it your best shot and still want to see the solution, you can continue scrolling down - the answers are below the image.

Hint: Spices
Hint: Perform poorly
Hint: Skim through, as pages
Hint: Pop singers minus āsā