NYT Connections (#1,145) Hints and Answers to Save Your Streak (July 26, 2026)

Done with your morning coffee but not today’s Connections puzzle? We’re here to help you out. We’ll get you started with some general hints to nudge you in the direction of the answers. Then, we’ll give you one word from each category, followed by the list of themes. Finally, you’ll find the answers and their explanations at the end of the page. Here are all the hints, clues, and answers to today’s NYT Connections (#1,145, July 30, 2026).

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What is Connections?

After Wordle, Connections is the New York Times’ most popular word game. The rules are simple. You need to find words with a common theme and group them into 4 groups of 4. The 16-word grid is designed with an increasing level of difficulty. The Yellow group is the easiest to spot, followed by Green, Blue, and Purple. The misdirects and red herrings can trip you up, but they also make the puzzle more fun. 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

• JUGGLING
• CARNIVAL
• DOT
• FAIR
• BINGO
• RIGHT
• POOL
• NOSE
• MONEY
• GOOD
• BEER PONG
• CELEBRITY
• VIKING
• MARK
• PRINCESS
• JUST

Hints for NYT Connections (#1,145) July 30, 2026

Let’s get you started with some general, spoiler-free hints.

🟡Yellow Group: Righteous.

🟢Green Group: Requires balls.

🔵Blue Group: Provide vacation on a ship.

🟣Purple Group: Spot on.

One Word Per Category (Contains Spoilers)

Can’t seem to find an in? We’ll give you one word from each category.

• 🟡Yellow Group: Fair.
• 🟢Green Group: Beer Pong.
• 🔵Blue Group: Carnival.
• 🟣Purple Group: Dot.

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: Virtuous.
• 🟢Green Group: Activities With Multiple Balls.
• 🔵Blue Group: Cruise Lines.
• 🟣Purple Group: On The ___, To Mean ‘Precise’.

Answers to NYT Connections (#1,145) Today (July 30, 2026)

Close to waving the white flag? Fine, we’ll give you the answers.

• 🟡Yellow Group: Fair, Good, Just, Right. (Virtuous)

All of these words are used to describe something righteous or ethical.

• 🟢Green Group: Beer Pong, Bingo, Juggling, Pool. (Activities With Multiple Balls)

Beer pong requires tossing balls into beer cups. Bingo uses numbered balls to advance the game. Juggling requires tossing three or more balls in the air. Pool has a set of striped and solid balls.

• 🔵Blue Group: Carnival, Celebrity, Princess, Viking. (Cruise Lines)

These are the names of some of the most popular cruise companies.

• 🟣Purple Group: Dot, Mark, Money, Nose. (On The ___, To Mean ‘Precise’)

On the dot. On the mark. On the money. On the nose.

Answers to yesterday’s puzzle (#1,144, July 29, 2026)

• 🟡Yellow Group: Nail, Rivet, Screw, Staple. (Fasten)
• 🟢Green Group: Basic, Mid, Plain, Vanilla. (Nondescript)
• 🔵Blue Group: Gem, Nugget, Pearl, Word. (Units Of Wisdom)
• 🟣Purple Group: Black, Chalk, Cork, White. (____ Boards In A Classroom)

Answers to NYT Connections #1,143 (July 28, 2026)

• 🟡Yellow Group: Captain, Direct, Head, Lead. (Command)
• 🟢Green Group: Empire, Fuji, Gala, Honeycrisp. (How Do You Like Them Apples)
• 🔵Blue Group: Camper, Clarks, Converse, Crocs. (Shoe Brands Starting with ‘C’)
• 🟣Purple Group: Annapolis, Bobsled, Everest, Ottoman. (Starting With Palindromic Names)

Answers to NYT Connections #1,142 (July 27, 2026)

• 🟡Yellow Group: Beam, Horse, Rings, Vault. (Gymnastics Apparatus)
• 🟢Green Group: Carrot, Icicle, Knitting Needle, Stalactite. (Long Tapered Things)
• 🔵Blue Group: Doppler, Graveyard, Paradigm, Stick. (Kinds Of Shifts)
• 🟣Purple Group: Bell, Cart, Heart, Magnifying Glass. (Icons On A Shopping Site)

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How did other solvers do today?

NYT’s early testers rated today’s Connection puzzle 1.8 out of 5. This puts it in the easy difficulty level. Let us know how you fared in the comments!