Today’s Connections puzzle is one of those rare ones where the Purple group isn’t the hardest out of the four. For a lot of users, the Blue group will be the true test today. If you’re stuck on it, we’re here to you out. As you scroll down, you’ll see some general hints to nudge you in the right direction. This will be followed by the revelation of one word from each category and the official list of themes. Finally, you will find the answers and their explanations at the end of the page. So, without further ado, here are all the hints, clues, and answers to today’s NYT Connections (#1,135, July 20, 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
- OYSTER
- MEADOW
- WISDOM
- SOUND
- BUTTON
- BUBBLE TEA
- PORTOBELLO
- MENU
- TRUMPET
- ICON
- HERALD
- SWINE
- SAKES
- BLARE
- LINK
- ALEXA
Hints for NYT Connections (#1,135) July 20, 2026
Let’s get you started with some general, spoiler-free hints.
- 🟡Yellow Group: Declare something.
- 🟢Green Group: Things you’d find on a digital interface.
- 🔵Blue Group: Related to a round, glistening object.
- 🟣Purple Group: Glug, glug, glug!
One Word Per Category (Contains Spoilers)
Can’t seem to find an in? We’ll give you one word from each category.
- 🟡Yellow Group: Blare.
- 🟢Green Group: Button.
- 🔵Blue Group: Bubble Tea.
- 🟣Purple Group: Alexa.
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: Announce.
- 🟢Green Group: Things To Click.
- 🔵Blue Group: Associated With Pearls.
- 🟣Purple Group: Starting With Alcohol Beverages.
Answers to NYT Connections (#1,135) Today (July 20, 2026)
Close to waving the white flag? Fine, we’ll give you the answers.
- 🟡Yellow Group: Blare, Herald, Sound, Trumpet. (Announce)
These words are used to refer to the act of announcing or declaring something.
- 🟢Green Group: Button, Icon, Link, Menu. (Things To Click)
These are some of the clickable things you can find in a digital interface like a TV, smartphone, PC, and more.
- 🔵Blue Group: Bubble Tea, Oyster, Swine, Wisdom. (Associated With Pearls)
Bubble tea contains tapioca pearls. Oysters contain actual pearls. “Cast pearls before swine” is a common idiom. “Pearls of wisdom” is a phrase used to refer to valuable advice.
- 🟣Purple Group: Alexa, Meadow, Portobello, Sakes. (Starting With Alcohol Beverages)
Ale-xa, Mead-ow, Port-obello, Sake-s.
Answers to yesterday’s puzzle (#1,134, July 19, 2026)
- 🟡Yellow Group: Breaker, Fuse, Relay, Switch. (Circuit Components)
- 🟢Green Group: Connect, Join, Pair, Sync. (Digital Coupling Verbs)
- 🔵Blue Group: Drain, Flush, Refill, Swirl. (Things Toilets Do)
- 🟣Purple Group: Game, Long, Poker, Straight. (___ Face Expressions)
Answers to NYT Connections #1,133 (July 18, 2026)
- 🟡Yellow Group: Carry, Double Dribble, Goaltend, Travel. (Commit A Basketball Violation)
- 🟢Green Group: Attitude, Mind, Opinion, View. (Belief)
- 🔵Blue Group: Health, Lives, Score, Time. (Things Tracked In Video Games)
- 🟣Purple Group: Culture, Fly, Quiz, Tart. (Words After ‘Pop’)
Answers to NYT Connections #1,132 (July 17, 2026)
- 🟡Yellow Group: Epilogue, Farewell, Last Dance, Swan Song. (Grand Finale)
- 🟢Green Group: Crane Game, Pinball, Tickets, Tokens. (Seen In An Arcade)
- 🔵Blue Group: Cardinal Directions, Classical Elements, Seasons, Suits. (Four Groups Of Four)
- 🟣Purple Group: Plot Spoiler, Robin Hood, Satires, Tree Trunk. (Ending In Parts Of A Car)
How did other solvers do today?
NYT’s early testers rated today’s Connection puzzle 3 out of 5. This puts it in the hard difficulty level. Let us know how you fared in the comments!
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