Game #1144 (July 29) delivers a tidy Connections board that mixes hardware, classroom staples and a few cleverly literal nouns. The 16-word set feels like a well-organized toolbox with one sly trick hiding in plain sight.
Today’s puzzle is quick to parse if you spot the obvious groups early, but a couple of overlapping words make a confident final sweep the real test.
SPOILER WARNING: The sections below name every group and every answer for Game #1144. If you want to solve without spoilers, stop now.
Today’s NYT Connections words
Here are the 16 words on the board, in the order they appeared:
- CORK | PEARL | BASIC | STAPLE
- MID | WORD | CHALK | WHITE
- BLACK | VANILLA | GEM | NAIL
- RIVET | NUGGET | SCREW | PLAIN
Today’s NYT Connections hints
Four spoiler-light hints to nudge you in the right direction without giving the game away.
- 🟡 Yellow: Think small metal pieces used to join two things together.
- 🟢 Green: Words that describe something unremarkable, ordinary or average.
- 🔵 Blue: Short nouns that can stand for a small piece of value or insight.
- 🟣 Purple: Words that complete the blank before “boards” you might see in a classroom.
Today’s NYT Connections group titles
- 🟡 Yellow: FASTENERS
- 🟢 Green: NONDESCRIPT
- 🔵 Blue: UNITS OF WISDOM
- 🟣 Purple: ___BOARDS IN A CLASSROOM
What are today’s NYT Connections answers?
All four groups and their members for Game #1144 are listed in the table below.
| Colour | Group | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 🟡 Yellow | FASTENERS | NAIL, RIVET, SCREW, STAPLE |
| 🟢 Green | NONDESCRIPT | BASIC, MID, PLAIN, VANILLA |
| 🔵 Blue | UNITS OF WISDOM | GEM, NUGGET, PEARL, WORD |
| 🟣 Purple | ___BOARDS IN A CLASSROOM | BLACK, CHALK, CORK, WHITE |
Today’s Connections — expert analysis
The natural entry point on this board is the hardware: NAIL, RIVET, SCREW and STAPLE are a compact, literal set and jump out as a safe Yellow pick. That group’s clarity lets you remove obvious anchors fast and reduces the number of tempting overlaps.
The trickiest group was the Blue set, labeled UNITS OF WISDOM. GEM, NUGGET and PEARL cluster nicely as small valuable things, but WORD is the odd one if you’re only scanning for physical items — it takes the metaphorical step (a “word nugget” or “pearls of wisdom”) to click. The main decoys were PEARL and GEM (both look like they could belong to a jewelry theme or be mistaken for classroom white/black/vanilla color associations), and PLAIN, VANILLA and MID offered strong overlap with colors and “non-descript” senses. CORK also looks like it could be an odd one out until you see the classroom-board pattern with BLACK, CHALK and WHITE.
If you’re stuck on your first safe guess after the fasteners, invest in the classroom board group — BLACK, CHALK, WHITE and CORK form a tight semantic quartet and are less ambiguous than the abstract NONDESCRIPT set. Clearing that gives you the freedom to evaluate the VANILLA/PLAIN/MID/BASIC cluster without fear of mis-sorting the more metaphorical Blue group.
Difficulty: 3/5 — several clean groups but a couple of neat overlaps that require a metaphorical leap.
Yesterday’s NYT Connections answers (Game #1143)
A quick recap of Game #1143’s groups and answers.
- 🟡 Yellow (COMMAND): CAPTAIN, DIRECT, HEAD, LEAD
- 🟢 Green (HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM APPLES): EMPIRE, FUJI, GALA, HONEYCRISP
- 🔵 Blue (SHOE BRANDS STARTING WITH “C”): CAMPER, CLARKS, CONVERSE, CROCS
- 🟣 Purple (STARTING WITH PALINDROMIC NAMES): ANNAPOLIS, BOBSLED, EVEREST, OTTOMAN
What is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections is a daily word-association puzzle in which players sort 16 words into four groups of four, based on shared themes or relationships. Each set is intended to be solvable through a mix of literal and lateral thinking.
How to play NYT Connections
- Select four words you think form a group and submit them as a guess.
- If the guess is correct, those words lock in; if incorrect, you lose a guess and try again.
- Repeat until all four groups are found or you run out of guesses.
Past week’s NYT Connections answers
Missed a day? Full solutions from earlier this week, newest first.
Game #1142 — July 27
- 🟡 GYMNASTICS APPARATUS: BEAM, HORSE, RINGS, VAULT
- 🟢 LONG TAPERED THINGS: CARROT, ICICLE, KNITTING NEEDLE, STALACTITE
- 🔵 KINDS OF SHIFTS: DOPPLER, GRAVEYARD, PARADIGM, STICK
- 🟣 ICONS ON A SHOPPING SITE: BELL, CART, HEART, MAGNIFYING GLASS
Game #1141 — July 26
- 🟡 BABY MILESTONES: CRAWLING, FIRST WORDS, ROLLING OVER, SOLID FOOD
- 🟢 OUTMODED CONSUMER TECH: BLACKBERRY, DISCMAN, DVD PLAYER, PLASMA TV
- 🔵 EXPRESSIONS FOR RAIN: APRIL SHOWERS, LIQUID SUNSHINE, SCOTCH MIST, WET WEATHER
- 🟣 WHAT “SHELL” MIGHT REFER TO: CARAPACE, GAS STATION, PASTRY CRUST, ROWING BOAT
Game #1140 — July 25
- 🟡 SPANISH RELATIVES: ABUELA, HIJO, MADRE, PRIMO
- 🟢 START TO CRY, WITH “UP”: CHOKE, MIST, TEAR, WELL
- 🔵 AFRICAN CURRENCIES: KWANZA, LEONE, NAIRA, RAND
- 🟣 STRIP ___: CLUB, MALL, POKER, STEAK
Game #1139 — July 24
- 🟡 TALK AT LENGTH: BABBLE, DRONE, RAMBLE, YAK
- 🟢 OUTCOMES FOR A BATTER: HOME RUN, SINGLE, STRIKEOUT, WALK
- 🔵 BRING TO MIND, AS A MEMORY: JOG, PROMPT, REFRESH, SPARK
- 🟣 HOMOPHONES OF RELIGIOUS ROLES: CANTER, FRYER, LLAMA, NONE
Game #1138 — July 23
- 🟡 SPHERICAL THINGS: BASEBALL, GLOBE, MARBLE, ORANGE
- 🟢 IN AN ANXIOUS STATE: EXCITED, FEBRILE, FRENETIC, INTENSE
- 🔵 PARTS OF AN AIRPORT: APRON, HANGAR, RUNWAY, TERMINAL
- 🟣 ENDING IN GEOMETRY TERMS: APPOINT, DEPLANE, FELINE, JANGLE
Game #1137 — July 22
- 🟡 SYMPTOMS OF AN ALLERGIC REACTION: HIVES, ITCHING, RASH, REDNESS
- 🟢 ON A GOLF SCORECARD: HOLE, PAR, SCORE, STROKES
- 🔵 PLATFORM-SPECIFIC POSTS: PINS, SNAPS, TWEETS, VINES
- 🟣 FEATURES OF A ZEBRA: HOOVES, MANE, TAIL, WHITE STRIPES
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 — we keep the past week of solutions right here on this page. Scroll up to the “Past week’s NYT Connections answers” section for every recent grid, newest first, plus a full breakdown of yesterday’s puzzle.
