Want a different day?
A new NYT Connections puzzle appears every day at midnight for your time zone – which means some people are still playing “today’s game” while others are playing “yesterday’s.” If you are looking for Wednesday’s puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections Tips and Answers for Wednesday, July 15 (Thu #1130).
Good morning! Let’s play Connections, the clever word game from the New York Times that challenges you to group answers into different categories. This can be difficult, so read on if you need tips on connections.
What should you do once you’re done? Well, play other word games of course. I also have daily Strands tips and answers and articles on Quordle tips and answers if you need help with those too, while Marc’s Wordle page today covers the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: The information on NYT Connections today is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.
NYT Connections today (set #1131) – words of the day
Today’s NYT Connections words are…
- NEEDLE
- INK
- JET
- POINT MATRIX
- TONIC
- SECURITY POINT
- LASER
- CHARCOAL
- PEEL
- NOT
- PERIOD PIECE
- BUBBLE EYE
- STAIN REMOVER
- EYE CREAM
- CLOCK
- CLAY MASK
NYT Connections today (game #1131) – clue #1 – group clues
What are the clues for today’s NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: Beauty products
- PURPLE: Small beginnings
- BLUE: In search of perfection
- GREEN: The darkness
Need more clues?
We’re firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four themed answers are for today’s NYT Connections riddles…
NYT Connections today (game #1131) – clue #2 – group answers
What are the answers for today’s NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: SKIN CARE PRODUCTS
- PURPLE: START WITH SMALL MARKS
- BLUE: COMBINED WITH PRECISION
- GREEN: SHADES OF BLACK
That’s right, the answers are below, so DON’T SCROLL FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Connections today (game #1131) – the answers
The answers to today’s Connections game #1131 are…
- YELLOW: CARE PRODUCTS: CLAY MASK, EYE CREAM, PEEL, TONER
- PURPLE: START WITH SMALL MARKS: POINT MATRIX, PERIOD PIECE, POINT BREAK, ANTI-STAIN
- BLUE: ASSOCIATED WITH PRECISION: BULLSEYE, WATCHMAKING, LASER, NEEDLE
- GREEN: SHADES OF BLACK: CHARCOAL, INK, JET, PITCH
- My rating: Hard
- My rating: 1 error
Looking back at today’s game after finishing it, I don’t understand why I didn’t manage to see SHADES OF BLACK because that’s the only group I could have really understood.
The other three groups were the result of confusing play and lucky guesses – particularly STARTING WITH SMALL MARKS, which I got not because I had spotted dot, dot, dot and dot, but because all the tiles were two words.
Before that, however, I made the mistake of putting together what I thought were four different types of printers. I hope I wasn’t the only player to fall into this trap, but the truth is, it doesn’t take much to catch me.
Answers from yesterday’s NYT Connections (Wednesday July 15, 2026, Thu #1130)
- YELLOW: TERMS FOR THE LEGAL SYSTEM: BAR, BENCH, COURT, TRIBUNAL
- GREEN: THINGS WITH LACES: BASEBALL GLOVE, CORSET, FOOTBALL, SHOE
- BLUE: TYPES OF SPORTS: EXTREME, MOTOR, RACKET, WATER
- PURPLE: WORDS BEFORE “ROOM” TO INDICATE ADDITIONAL SPACE: BREATH, ELBOW, HEAD, STIR
What is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games created by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four elements that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow is a little more difficult, blue is often quite difficult, and purple is usually very difficult.
On the plus side, you technically don’t need to solve the final question, as you will be able to answer it through a process of elimination. Additionally, you can make up to four mistakes, giving you some breathing room.
However, it’s a bit more complex than something like Wordle, and the game provides plenty of opportunities to trip you up with tricks. For example, watch out for homophones and other puns that could obscure the answers.
It is playable for free via the NYT Games website on computer or mobile.
