Game #1110 served up a neat mix today: obvious tech gear, snug synonyms, dangerous elements and a slippery homophone trick. If you breezed through the computer-related set, congratulations — the rest was waiting to make you sweat.
Expect a short, confident solve followed by a moment of doubt when the homophone cluster shows its teeth. Read on for the full breakdown of Game #1110 and the exact groupings.
SPOILER WARNING: The sections below give away today’s four Connections groups and every answer. If you haven’t finished the puzzle and want to try it blind, stop now.
Today’s NYT Connections words
Here are the 16 tiles laid out in the exact order they appeared.
- POLONIUM | CRANIUM | COMPACT | HOCKEY
- CROQUETTE | TRACKPAD | LEAD | SQUASHED
- MERCURY | DUCTILE | DENSE | MICROPHONE
- MONITOR | FRANCIUM | PRINTER | COMPRESSED
Today’s NYT Connections hints
One quick, spoiler-light hint per group — read these if you need a nudge.
- 🟡 Yellow: Four things you plug into or use with a computer.
- 🟢 Green: Words that all mean tightly packed or squashed.
- 🔵 Blue: Four metallic element names that can be hazardous.
- 🟣 Purple: Each word starts with a sound that echoes a bird name.
Today’s NYT Connections group titles
The official group titles for Game #1110.
- 🟡 Yellow: COMPUTER PERIPHERALS
- 🟢 Green: TIGHTLY PACKED
- 🔵 Blue: HAZARDOUS ELEMENTAL METALS
- 🟣 Purple: STARTING WITH BIRD HOMOPHONES
What are today’s NYT Connections answers?
Here are the four solved groups and their members.
- 🟡 Yellow (COMPUTER PERIPHERALS): MICROPHONE, MONITOR, PRINTER, TRACKPAD
- 🟢 Green (TIGHTLY PACKED): COMPACT, COMPRESSED, DENSE, SQUASHED
- 🔵 Blue (HAZARDOUS ELEMENTAL METALS): FRANCIUM, LEAD, MERCURY, POLONIUM
- 🟣 Purple (STARTING WITH BIRD HOMOPHONES): CRANIUM, CROQUETTE, DUCTILE, HOCKEY
Today’s Connections — expert analysis
The natural entry point was the yellow COMPUTER PERIPHERALS set: MICROPHONE, MONITOR and PRINTER are unmistakable, and TRACKPAD snaps in once you see the pattern. That clean, concrete category makes for a satisfying early grab and cuts the board down fast.
The toughest pocket was the purple STARTING WITH BIRD HOMOPHONES. Those homophone starts are a subtle structural trick and not an immediate semantic link, so CRANIUM, CROQUETTE, DUCTILE and HOCKEY don’t feel related at first glance. Several tiles behaved as effective decoys — DUCTILE looks like a metals clue and tempts a match with LEAD or MERCURY, while DENSE and COMPRESSED fit both the “tightly packed” idea and can misleadingly feel physical like some elemental properties. TRACKPAD and PRINTER were tempting targets for other quick associations but belonged squarely to the peripherals set. Overall this board is clever rather than brutal: a clean easy entry, a wordy synonyms cluster, a straightforward hazardous-elements set, and one sly homophone group — difficulty: moderate with a tricky finish.
Yesterday’s NYT Connections answers (Game #1109)
For reference, here are yesterday’s four groups and their members from Game #1109.
- 🟡 Yellow (PROG BANDS): GENESIS, KING CRIMSON, PINK FLOYD, RUSH
- 🟢 Green (CLASSIC WEDDING GIFTS): CHINA, LUGGAGE, MONEY, TOASTER
- 🔵 Blue (RED CHARACTERS): CLIFFORD, DEADPOOL, KOOL-AID MAN, MR. KRABS
- 🟣 Purple (RHYMING COMPOUND WORDS): CHICK FLICK, HELTER SKELTER, HUMPTY DUMPTY, MUMBO JUMBO
What is NYT Connections?
Connections is the New York Times’ daily grouping puzzle: you’re given 16 words and must sort them into four groups of four whose members share a common connection. The catch is that the connections can be semantic, phonetic, structural, or just plain sneaky.
How to play NYT Connections
- Scan the board for an obvious quartet and select those four words.
- If a selection is wrong, rethink overlaps—many words legitimately suggest more than one theme.
- Use early easy groups to reduce the pool and reveal subtler patterns like homophones or shared prefixes.
More daily puzzle help from HashTechWave
- Today’s NYT Strands hints, spangram and answers
- Today’s NYT Spelling Bee answers and pangram
- Today’s Wordle hints, clues and answer
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What time does a new NYT Connections puzzle unlock?
A brand-new puzzle drops every single night at midnight local time across your specific region’s time zone on NYT Connection official site.
Why do some words seem to fit into two different groups?
The puzzle is specifically designed to include “decoys” or overlapping vocabulary. Always look for a backup configuration of words before locking in an early guess to protect your attempt counter.
Can I review answers to older puzzles?
Yes! If you are tracking performance over time or reviewing a grid you missed over the weekend, you can check out our dedicated NYT Connections Past Archive to look over historical solutions.
