Today’s board felt pretty fair at first glance, then got a little sneaky in that classic endgame way. I had one clean set early and then spent a minute side-eyeing a few decoys.
Today's Connections hints (#1128)
Show four hints, easiest to hardest ↓
Today's Connections answers
Reveal all four groups ↓
EXAMINE · GRILL · PUMP · QUESTION
BUCKET · DRAWER · MUG · UMBRELLA
FIGARO · PUSS · SALEM · TOM
BUSSIN · KISSER · PECKISH · SMACKDOWN
A few thoughts on today's puzzle
This one had a nice staircase feel to it. The first set was pretty direct once I stopped overthinking and just looked for action words with the same social purpose. The next easiest group was also friendly, though I did briefly wonder whether a couple of those nouns were trying to point somewhere more thematic than physical.
The blue set is where the puzzle got more personality. Those names are familiar enough that if you’ve absorbed a normal amount of cartoons, comics, movies, or Halloween-adjacent TV, you could probably spot the connection. Still, proper nouns always slow people down a bit, especially when they don’t all come from the same corner of culture.
Purple was a very standard “don’t read the whole word, read the front of it” trick, which I usually appreciate right after I grumble about it. That category can feel invisible until you catch the pattern, and then suddenly it looks obvious.
The main trap today was overlap in tone and form. A few words looked like they might belong in a names group, while others could tempt you into building a verbs set that doesn’t quite hold together. That made the board feel a touch stickier than a true breeze, but not brutal. If you’re on a puzzle streak, you can also take a swing at Wordle, Strands, and Spelling Bee over at writeupcafe.com.
Connections FAQ
What was the easiest group today?
I’d give that to the yellow set. Once you notice the shared idea of pressing someone for information, it falls into place quickly.
What made the purple group tricky?
It’s a word-fragment category. The meanings of the full words don’t line up much, so you have to notice the same opening sound or chunk.
Did any group rely on outside knowledge?
A little. The blue set helps if you recognize famous fictional felines, but they’re common enough references that many solvers will know at least a few.
Was this puzzle hard overall?
I’d call it middle-of-the-road. Not a pushover, but also not one of those boards where every choice feels cursed.
What is NYT Connections?
Connections is a daily word-association puzzle from the New York Times. You're given 16 words and have to sort them into four groups of four that share a hidden link, with only four mistakes allowed. It resets at midnight Eastern, and it's free at nytimes.com/games/connections.
We refresh this page every day with fresh hints and the full solution — bookmark it for tomorrow.
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