NYT Connections · #1116

NYT Connections Hints & Answers (#1116) — July 1, 2026

By Sneha Rajput·July 1, 2026

“Lock in Yellow first — those four words have a life outside geography that the others don't. Once they're gone, the remaining place names are easier to sort.CHICAGO has appeared in Connections four times before — as a musical, a rock band, and twice in film-related categories, most recently as a Best Picture winner in Connections #762 (May 28, 2025). CHINA just appeared last week in Connections #1196 (Jun 24, 2026) as a classic wedding gift. Both carry a lot of history, but today each fits a different group than you may expect.”

NYT Connections hints for July 1, 2026

Three levels of help — a definition for every word, colour-coded group nudges, and a heads-up on the traps. Skip to all answers →

Word clues

A spoiler-free definition for every word in the grid. Tap the eye on any card to reveal which colour-group it belongs to.

1 CASABLANCAThe 1942 Humphrey Bogart classic that won Best Picture at the 1944 Oscars.

2 CHAMPAGNEThe sparkling wine named after the French region where it was first produced.

3 CHICAGOThe 2002 musical film that took Best Picture at the 2003 Oscars — not the band or the city.

4 CHINAFine ceramic tableware — named after the country, but here it's the product, not the place.

5 COLOGNEA light perfume named after the German city of Köln, where it originated.

6 CUBAThe Caribbean country in Cuba Libre — rum, cola and lime.

7 DOMINICAN REPUBLICStarts with DOMINICA, the small Caribbean island nation just to its northwest.

8 FARGOThe Coen Brothers' 1996 crime film, nominated for Best Picture at the 1997 Oscars.

9 GUINEA-BISSAUStarts with GUINEA — itself a country in West Africa, making this the most disorienting entry in the group.

10 INDIANAPOLISThe Indiana capital that opens with INDIA — easy to miss when you're thinking about racing.

11 LIMERICKA five-line comic poem — named after the Irish city, though the exact origin story is disputed.

12 LONG ISLANDThe New York region in Long Island Iced Tea — famously, it contains no tea.

13 MOSCOWThe Russian capital in the Moscow Mule — vodka, ginger beer and lime in a copper mug.

14 MUNICHSpielberg's 2005 thriller about the aftermath of the 1972 Olympics, nominated for Best Picture.

15 NIGERIAThe West African nation that opens with NIGER, its landlocked northern neighbour.

16 SINGAPOREThe city-state in the Singapore Sling — a gin-based cocktail created at Raffles Hotel.

Group hints

Four colour-coded groups, easiest → hardest. Every button reveals the hint, the category name, or a single word — tap only what you need.

See Hint

You use or wear each of these without thinking about where they got their name.

See Group

THINGS NAMED AFTER PLACES

See Word

CHAMPAGNE

See Word

CHINA

See Word

COLOGNE

See Word

LIMERICK

See Hint

The Academy handed each of these a golden statue.

See Group

BEST PICTURE WINNERS/NOMINEES

See Word

CASABLANCA

See Word

CHICAGO

See Word

FARGO

See Word

MUNICH

See Hint

A bartender knows each of these by name.

See Group

PLACES IN COCKTAIL NAMES

See Word

CUBA

See Word

LONG ISLAND

See Word

MOSCOW

See Word

SINGAPORE

See Hint

Each one contains a smaller sovereign state you might overlook.

See Group

STARTING WITH COUNTRIES

See Word

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

See Word

GUINEA-BISSAU

See Word

INDIANAPOLIS

See Word

NIGERIA

Words the puzzle wants you to mis-group

Read these before you guess — they're the words most likely to break a streak. Tap for the trap.

1 CHINA Tap to see why this word traps.

You're probably thinking of the country — but here the puzzle uses it as a product, a type of ceramic ware, not the place itself.

2 CHICAGO Tap to see why this word traps.

You're probably picturing the city or the band — but the puzzle is using it in a completely different domain, one that has nothing to do with geography or music.

3 SINGAPORE Tap to see why this word traps.

You're likely reading it as a country or a potential film title — but the puzzle is using it in a context that has nothing to do with geography or cinema.

4 GUINEA-BISSAU Tap to see why this word traps.

You're probably reading it as a single country name, but the puzzle is using it because another country name is hiding at its very start.

5 INDIANAPOLIS Tap to see why this word traps.

You're probably thinking of the Indiana city or a racing event, but the puzzle cares about the country name buried at the beginning of the word.

NYT Connections answers for July 1, 2026

All four groups revealed, easiest first. Each card holds the theme, the four words, and why the group works.

Y THINGS NAMED AFTER PLACES · Yellow · easiest

CHAMPAGNE
CHINA
COLOGNE
LIMERICK

CHAMPAGNE, CHINA, COLOGNE and LIMERICK are all everyday things — a sparkling wine, ceramic ware, a fragrance, and a five-line poem — that take their names from specific places. CHINA is the sneakiest: most solvers see the country first and miss that it's also the word for fine porcelain.

G BEST PICTURE WINNERS/NOMINEES · Green · easy

CASABLANCA
CHICAGO
FARGO
MUNICH

CASABLANCA, CHICAGO, FARGO and MUNICH are all Oscar Best Picture winners or nominees. CASABLANCA won in 1944, CHICAGO won in 2003, FARGO was nominated in 1997, and MUNICH was nominated in 2006.

B PLACES IN COCKTAIL NAMES · Blue · medium

CUBA
LONG ISLAND
MOSCOW
SINGAPORE

CUBA, LONG ISLAND, MOSCOW and SINGAPORE each appear in a famous cocktail name: Cuba Libre, Long Island Iced Tea, Moscow Mule and Singapore Sling. LONG ISLAND is the most distinctive — it's the only one that isn't a country or capital city.

P STARTING WITH COUNTRIES · Purple · hardest

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
GUINEA-BISSAU
INDIANAPOLIS
NIGERIA

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, GUINEA-BISSAU, INDIANAPOLIS and NIGERIA each begin with a country name: DOMINICA, GUINEA, INDIA and NIGER respectively. GUINEA-BISSAU is the cruelest entry — GUINEA is itself a country, hidden inside the name of another country.

Try another puzzle

Two more NazoKai hints, ready when you are.

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Answers, pangram & word list

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