Today’s Connections puzzle is a tricky one. If you’re not on your game, this one might slip past you. Instead of wasting your attempts on guesses, we recommend taking a look at the hints we’ve prepared for you. If you’re on your last attempt, scroll further to get one word from each category and the list of themes. Don’t want to take any chances? You’ll find the answers and their explanations at the bottom. So, without further ado, here are the hints, clues, and answers to today’s NYT Connections (#1,126, July 11, 2026).
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In This Article
What is Connections?
Connections is one of the most popular word games from The New York Times, only trailing behind Wordle. The rules of the game are simple. You are presented with a 16-word grid where you’re supposed to find the entries that share something in common. There are a total of 4 groups, each consisting of 4 letters, that you must find. The Yellow group is the easiest to spot, followed by Green, Blue, and Purple. Sometimes, there are a couple of red herrings to throw you off and make the puzzle more interesting. You can play Connections in the NYT Games app or on the NYT website.
Some tips to solve Connections
Look for the obvious patterns: Not every category in the puzzle is confusing. The Yellow and Green category words are relatively easy to spot. However, if something seems too obvious, it could be a red herring. Typically, the first two categories comprise verbs and adjectives. The misdirects are often nouns.
Double-check your submissions: ‘Do not overthink’ is usually a good tip for solving most puzzles, but it doesn’t really apply to Connections. Before submitting a set of words, you should always check whether they fit somewhere else too.
Hit a dead end? Use the shuffle button: The shuffle button at the bottom of the grid exists for a reason. Placing the words in different positions can spark new connections. Think of it as a mental refresh. New patterns will emerge, and you may be able to find a breakthrough.
Tackle the Purple category with extra caution: The Connections team is known to serve up the toughest and most unexpected words for the Purple category. Here are some of the common tropes that you should look out for:
- Homophones (For example: ‘Where’, ‘Wear’, ‘Ware’, and ‘Weir’)
- Words within words (For example: ‘Slip’, ‘Hear’, ‘Keyes’, and ‘Undiagnosed’ could be ‘Words containing parts of the face’)
- Words minus a letter (For example: ‘Anther’, ‘Easel’, ‘Hark’, and ‘Lama’ could be ‘Animals minus starting letter’)
- Words preceded or followed by another word (For example: ‘Face’, ‘Sports’, ‘Note’, and ‘Year’ could be ‘____ Book’)
Here’s your grid for today
- STILL
- STILTS
- SLINKY
- AARDVARK
- WOODY
- GLASSY
- CANNON
- BOCCE
- EBBING
- BO PEEP
- FLAT
- UNICYCLE
- CALM
- JESSIE
- TRAPEZE
- TWIDDLE
Hints for NYT Connections (#1,126) July 11, 2026
Let’s get you started with some general, spoiler-free hints.
- 🟡Yellow Group: Used by performers at a circus.
- 🟢Green Group: Unmoving water body.
- 🔵Blue Group: Characters from a recently released animated movie.
- 🟣Purple Group: Recurring letters.
One Word Per Category (Contains Spoilers)
Can’t seem to find an in? We’ll give you one word from each category.
- 🟡Yellow Group: Cannon.
- 🟢Green Group: Calm.
- 🔵Blue Group: Bo Peep.
- 🟣Purple Group: Aardvark.
List of Themes (Major Spoilers)
Maybe getting to know the common themes among the words will help you spot them faster. Here are all the categories for today.
- 🟡Yellow Group: Circus Equipment.
- 🟢Green Group: Undisturbed, As Water.
- 🔵Blue Group: Toy Story Characters.
- 🟣Purple Group: Double Letters Appearing In That Letter’s Alphabetical Position.
Answers to NYT Connections (#1,126) Today (July 11, 2026)
Close to waving the white flag? Fine, we’ll give you the answers.
- 🟡Yellow Group: Cannon, Stilts, Trapeze, Unicycle. (Circus Equipment)
Today’s Yellow group was pretty straightforward. All of these items can be found at a circus.
- 🟢Green Group: Calm, Flat, Glassy, Still. (Undisturbed, As Water)
These words are used to describe tranquil, unmoving bodies of water.
- 🔵Blue Group: Bo Peep, Jessie, Slinky, Woody. (Toy Story Characters)
If you haven’t watched Toy Story, this one may have thrown you for a spin. ‘Slinky’ is a bit of a misdirect, as it fits the circus theme too.
- 🟣Purple Group: Aardvark, Bocce, Ebbing, Twiddle. (Double Letters Appearing In That Letter’s Alphabetical Position)
A, being the first letter of the alphabet, appears as a double letter in the first position of Aardvark. The same goes for B in Ebbing (2), C in Bocce (3), and D in Twiddle (4).
Answers to yesterday’s puzzle (#1,125, July 10, 2026)
- 🟡Yellow Group: Airplane Mode, Do Not Disturb, Hotspot, Location Services. (Smartphone Settings)
- 🟢Green Group: Decadent, Fresh-Baked, Molten, À La Mode. (Dessert Menu Descriptors)
- 🔵Blue Group: Depeche Mode, Erasure, New Order, Pet Shop Boys. (‘80s Synth-Pop Bands)
- 🟣Purple Group: Ball Gown, Outkast, Safe Mode, Strike A Pose. (Starting With Baseball Calls)
Answers to NYT Connections #1,124 (July 9, 2026)
- 🟡Yellow Group: NA, Spirit-Free, Virgin, Zero-Proof. (Non-Alcoholic Designators)
- 🟢Green Group: Billboard, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Spin. (Music Publications)
- 🔵Blue Group: Persian, Prayer, Shag, Throw. (Kinds Of Rugs)
- 🟣Purple Group: Firebird, G6, Grand Prix, Trans Am. (Pontiac Models)
Answers to NYT Connections #1,123 (July 8, 2026)
- 🟡Yellow Group: Grate, Plane, Shave, Sliver. (Cut Into Thin Pieces)
- 🟢Green Group: Drift, Plot, Theme, Thread. (Motif)
- 🔵Blue Group: Pick, Pluck, Strum, Tap. (Guitar-Playing Techniques)
- 🟣Purple Group: Cards, Lords, Wax, Worship. (House Of ___)
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How did other solvers do today?
NYT’s early testers rated today’s Connection puzzle 1 out of 5. This puts it in the easy difficulty level. Let us know how you fared in the comments!
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