Today’s Connections puzzle will trip you up if you aren’t cautious with your guesses. Instead of trying your luck, we recommend taking a look at the hints we’ve prepared for you and entering logically consistent answers. If the hints don’t work, we’ll give you one word from each category, followed by the list of themes. At the end of the page, you will find the answers and their explanations. Here are all the hints, clues, and answers to today’s NYT Connections (#1,140, July 25, 2026).
In This Article
What is Connections?
The New York Times has a thriving online word game section, with Connections being the second-most-played title behind the crown jewel, Wordle. The rules of this game are simple – you need to find 4 groups comprising 4 words each in a 16-word grid. The words in each group are united by a common theme. The Yellow group is the easiest one to spot, followed by Green, Blue, and Purple (toughest). Sometimes, there are red herrings and misdirects in the grid to throw you off your game, so don’t take your thinking cap off at any time! Ready to lock in? 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
- STEAK
- LEONE
- PRIMO
- MALL
- MADRE
- MIST
- POKER
- CHOKE
- CLUB
- RAND
- TEAR
- NAIRA
- HIJO
- KWANZA
- WELL
- ABUELA
Hints for NYT Connections (#1,140) July 25, 2026
Let’s get you started with some general, spoiler-free hints.
- 🟡Yellow Group: Family members.
- 🟢Green Group: Get emotional.
- 🔵Blue Group: 💵
- 🟣Purple Group: Preceded by a common word which means ‘a narrow piece of land or material’.
One Word Per Category (Contains Spoilers)
Can’t seem to find an in? We’ll give you one word from each category.
- 🟡Yellow Group: Abuela.
- 🟢Green Group: Choke.
- 🔵Blue Group: Kwanza.
- 🟣Purple Group: Club.
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: Spanish Relatives.
- 🟢Green Group: Start To Cry, With ‘Up’.
- 🔵Blue Group: African Currencies.
- 🟣Purple Group: Strip ___.
Answers to NYT Connections (#1,140) Today (July 25, 2026)
Close to waving the white flag? Fine, we’ll give you the answers.
- 🟡Yellow Group: Abuela, Hijo, Madre, Primo. (Spanish Relatives)
Abuela – Grandmother. Hijo – Son. Madre – Mother. Primo – Cousin.
- 🟢Green Group: Choke, Mist, Tear, Well. (Start To Cry, With ‘Up’)
‘Choke up’, ‘Mist up’, ‘Tear up’, and ‘Well up’ are used to describe someone getting teary-eyed and emotional.
- 🔵Blue Group: Kwanza, Leone, Naira, Rand. (African Currencies)
Kwanza – Angola. Leone – Sierra Leone. Naira – Nigeria. Rand – South Africa.
- 🟣Purple Group: Club, Mall, Poker, Steak. (Strip ___)
Strip club, Strip mall, Strip poker, Strip steak.
Answers to yesterday’s puzzle (#1,139, July 24, 2026)
- 🟡Yellow Group: Babble, Drone, Ramble, Yak. (Talk At Length)
- 🟢Green Group: Home Run, Single, Strikeout, Walk. (Outcomes For A Batter)
- 🔵Blue Group: Jog, Prompt, Refresh, Spark. (Bring To Mind, As A Memory)
- 🟣Purple Group: Canter, Fryer, Llama, None. (Homophones Of Religious Roles)
Answers to NYT Connections #1,138 (July 23, 2026)
- 🟡Yellow Group: Baseball, Globe, Marble, Orange. (Spherical Things)
- 🟢Green Group: Excited, Febrile, Frenetic, Intense. (In An Anxious State)
- 🔵Blue Group: Apron, Hangar, Runway, Terminal. (Parts Of An Airport)
- 🟣Purple Group: Appoint, Deplane, Feline, Jangle. (Ending In Geometry Terms)
Answers to NYT Connections #1,137 (July 22, 2026)
- 🟡Yellow Group: Hives, Itching, Rash, Redness. (Symptoms Of An Allergic Reaction)
- 🟢Green Group: Hole, Par, Score, Strokes. (On A Golf Scorecard)
- 🔵Blue Group: Pins, Snaps, Tweets, Vines. (Platform-Specific Posts)
- 🟣Purple Group: Hooves, Mane, Tail, White Stripes. (Features Of A Zebra)
How did other solvers do today?
NYT’s early testers rated today’s Connection puzzle 2.7 out of 5. This puts it in the medium difficulty level. Let us know how you fared in the comments!
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