How it works
A look under the hood at where the definitions come from, in what order, and what happens behind the scenes.
Why I built this
My girlfriend Becca plays Connections every day. She'd often hit a word she didn't know and end up flicking between a dictionary tab and the puzzle, losing her train of thought. We figured a single screen showing all 16 words with their definitions side-by-side would save the dance. Later I added a hints mode for when you're properly stuck, and a toggle between dictionary sources because different dictionaries are good at different kinds of words.
What this app does
Every day the New York Times publishes a Connections puzzle: 16 words that group into four themed categories. This app fetches today's puzzle, then looks up a definition for each word so you can solve without spoiling yourself. The category names are hidden behind a tap so you choose when to peek.
Where definitions come from
Each word is looked up in a waterfall: if the top source has no entry, the next one is tried. Whichever source returns the definition first becomes the label shown on the card.
Clear, editor-vetted definitions from the publisher of the Collegiate Dictionary. Usually the cleanest short definition available.
Not for: Proper nouns, slang, brand-new coinages.
Wiktionary-sourced definitions via dictionaryapi.dev. Coverage is decent for everyday vocabulary, thinner for niche terms.
Not for: Technical jargon, proper nouns, slang.
One-line gloss-style definitions. Often the only source that has an entry for unusual compounds or informal one-offs.
Not for: Rich definitions or nuance — entries are one-line.
First two sentences of the matching Wikipedia article. The only source that reliably covers proper nouns.
Not for: Everyday vocabulary (too much context, not definitional).
Community-submitted, upvote-sorted entries. Useful for catching terms the traditional dictionaries skip.
Not for: Formal or academic definitions — tone is casual.
Caching
Definitions are cached in a Cloudflare D1 database for 30 days per word. This keeps external APIs from being hit repeatedly for common words, and lets the app respond fast even when upstream sources are slow or rate-limited. Puzzle data (the NYT JSON for each day) is also cached.
Privacy
No account, no tracking cookies beyond the usual analytics (PostHog + Sentry for error reporting). Your puzzle selections and theme preference are stored locally in your browser. Nothing you do is linked to an identity.
Stack
TanStack Start (React 19) on Cloudflare Workers with D1 (SQLite) for caching. Drizzle ORM for the database layer, Tailwind + shadcn for the UI, Radix for primitives. Source available on GitHub.
Play the puzzle
Get a feel for today's words here, then head over to the NYT to play. After solving, the editors' Companion column explains the categories in detail.
Not affiliated with NYT
This is an unofficial helper built by a fan. The puzzle content belongs to the New York Times; this tool just surfaces definitions for the day's words.