Today’s Connections puzzle has a bird-related misdirect. If you’re down one attempt because of it, we recommend proceeding cautiously. To offer you some help, we’ve got some spoiler-free hints for you. If those don’t work, we’ll give you one word from each category, followed by the list of themes. Finally, you can have the answers and their explanations. Here are all the hints, clues, and answers to today’s NYT Connections (#1,132, July 17, 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.
Here’s your grid for today
- CRANE GAME
- SATIRES
- TICKETS
- CARDINAL DIRECTIONS
- SWAN SONG
- SUITS
- ROBIN HOOD
- PLOT SPOILER
- TREE TRUNK
- TOKENS
- SEASON
- EPILOGUE
- LAST DANCE
- CLASSICAL ELEMENTS
- FAREWELL
- PINBALL
Hints for NYT Connections (#1,132) July 17, 2026
Let’s get you started with some general, spoiler-free hints.
- 🟡Yellow Group: Ending.
- 🟢Green Group: Core components of a fun place to play games.
- 🔵Blue Group: These things contain the same number of entities.
- 🟣Purple Group: Vroom vroom.
One Word Per Category (Contains Spoilers)
Can’t seem to find an in? We’ll give you one word from each category.
- 🟡Yellow Group: Epilogue.
- 🟢Green Group: Crane Game.
- 🔵Blue Group: Cardinal Directions.
- 🟣Purple Group: Plot Spoiler.
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: Grand Finale.
- 🟢Green Group: Seen In An Arcade.
- 🔵Blue Group: Four Groups Of Four.
- 🟣Purple Group: Ending In Parts Of A Car.
Answers to NYT Connections (#1,132) Today (July 17, 2026)
Close to waving the white flag? Fine, we’ll give you the answers.
- 🟡Yellow Group: Epilogue, Farewell, Last Dance, Swan Song. (Grand Finale)
All of these words are used to describe a final ending. ‘Swan Song’ was the bird-related red herring today along with ‘Crane Game’, ‘Cardinal Directions’, and ‘Robin Hood’.
- 🟢Green Group: Crane Game, Pinball, Tickets, Tokens. (Seen In An Arcade)
You need tokens to play games (like Pinball and Crane game) at an arcade, and you win tokens.
- 🔵Blue Group: Cardinal Directions, Classical Elements, Seasons, Suits. (Four Groups Of Four)
Cardinal Directions: North, South, East, West. Classical Elements: Earth, Fire, Water, Air. Seasons: Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring. Suits: Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs.
- 🟣Purple Group: Plot Spoiler, Robin Hood, Satires, Tree Trunk. (Ending In Parts Of A Car)
Spoiler, Hood, Tyres, Trunk.
Answers to yesterday’s puzzle (#1,131, July 16, 2026)
- 🟡Yellow Group: Clay Mask, Eye Cream, Peel, Toner. (Skincare Products)
- 🟢Green Group: Charcoal, Ink, Jet, Pitch. (Shades Of Black)
- 🔵Blue Group: Bullseye, Clockwork, Laser, Needle. (Associated With Precision)
- 🟣Purple Group: Dot Matrix, Period Piece, Point Break, Spot Remover. (Starting With Tiny Marks)
Answers to NYT Connections #1,130 (July 15, 2026)
- 🟡Yellow Group: Bar, Bench, Court, Tribunal. (Terms For The Legal System)
- 🟢Green Group: Baseball Glove, Corset, Football, Shoe. (Things With Laces)
- 🔵Blue Group: Extreme, Motor, Racket, Water. (Kinds Of Sports)
- 🟣Purple Group: Breathing, Elbow, Head, Wiggle. (Words Before ‘Room” To Indicate Extra Space)
Answers to NYT Connections #1,129 (July 14, 2026)
- 🟡Yellow Group: Agreement, Bargain, Deal, Understanding. (Contract)
- 🟢Green Group: Copy, Cut, Delete, Paste. (Edit Menu Options)
- 🔵Blue Group: Easter, Grocery, Laundry, Picnic. (Kinds Of Baskets)
- 🟣Purple Group: Recycling, Shuffle, This Side Up, U-Turn. (Symbolised With Arrows)
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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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