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NYT Connections · #1127

NYT Connections Hints & Answers (#1127) — July 12, 2026

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“Start with the group that feels most concrete and physical — once those four are locked in, the remaining words will stop pulling in so many directions.NERD appeared in Connections #455 (Aug 18, 2024) as part of a candy-related group. It plays a similar candy role today.”

NYT Connections hints for July 12, 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 →

1

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 DENThe opening of Denver, Colorado's capital — not a room or an animal's home.
2 DOTDots — the chewy gumdrop candies that come in a cardboard box, not a punctuation mark.
3 MADThe opening of Madison, Wisconsin's capital — not an emotion or a satirical magazine.
4 NERDNerds — the tiny, crunchy, fruit-flavored pebbles; nothing to do with academic stereotypes here.
5 PARTYThe fun half of the college mantra — and one of the most-recycled words in Connections history.
6 PHOThe opening of Phoenix, Arizona's capital — the puzzle's cruelest word, since it reads so naturally as the noodle soup.
7 PIPThe small seed inside an apple or grape — tiny but technically the whole point of the fruit.
8 PITThe hard inner stone of a peach or cherry — also a Poe story title, which is a red herring here.
9 REPEATThe word that closes the loop on the slogan — not a music button or a synonym for reiterate here.
10 RUNTRunts — the fruit-shaped hard candies; the puzzle is not talking about the smallest puppy in the litter.
11 SACThe opening of Sacramento, California's capital — not an anatomical pouch.
12 SEEDThe most generic term of the four — the part of a fruit designed to grow a new plant.
13 SLEEPThe recovery step in the cycle — not a dwarf, not a doctor's order, just the college mantra verb.
14 SPREESpree — a chewy fruit candy brand; not a shopping binge or a night out.
15 STONEAnother word for the hard pit of a drupe fruit; also a unit of weight, an Oscar winner, and much else — but here it's strictly botanical.
16 STUDYThe obligatory academic entry in the slogan — not a Clue room or a hall, just the verb.
2

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 Crack open a peach and you'll find one of these.
See Group REPRODUCTIVE PART OF FRUIT
See WordPIP
See WordPIT
See WordSEED
See WordSTONE
See Hint Each one is a bag you'd grab at the cinema concession stand.
See Group BIT OF FRUIT-FLAVORED CANDY
See WordDOT
See WordNERD
See WordRUNT
See WordSPREE
See Hint A freshman's bedroom poster lists exactly these four things.
See Group VERBS IN A COLLEGE LIFE SLOGAN
See WordPARTY
See WordREPEAT
See WordSLEEP
See WordSTUDY
See Hint Read just the first syllable and you're already in a different state.
See Group STARTS OF U.S. CAPITALS
See WordDEN
See WordMAD
See WordPHO
See WordSAC
3

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 SPREE Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably reading it as a shopping binge or wild outing — that's the natural pull, but here the puzzle is using it as a brand name from the candy aisle, not a description of a good night out.
2 NERD Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably thinking of the bookish stereotype, and with STUDY sitting right there the academic reading feels obvious — but here it's a candy brand, not a personality type.
3 DEN Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably picturing a cozy room or an animal's lair — but here the puzzle is using it as the opening letters of a U.S. city, not a place to curl up.
4 MAD Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably reading it as angry or unhinged — but here it's the first three letters of a state capital, not an emotion.
5 PHO Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably thinking of the Vietnamese noodle soup — but here it's the opening letters of a major U.S. city, not a bowl of broth.

NYT Connections answers for July 12, 2026

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

Y REPRODUCTIVE PART OF FRUIT · Yellow · easiest
  • PIP
  • PIT
  • SEED
  • STONE

PIP, PIT, SEED and STONE are all the reproductive core found inside fruit. STONE and PIT are the trickiest pair — they mean the same thing (the hard inner case of a drupe like a cherry or peach), which makes solvers wonder if one is a decoy.

G BIT OF FRUIT-FLAVORED CANDY · Green · easy
  • DOT
  • NERD
  • RUNT
  • SPREE

DOT, NERD, RUNT and SPREE are all fruit-flavored candy brands. SPREE is the sneakiest — almost every solver reads it as a wild outing before the candy connection clicks.

B VERBS IN A COLLEGE LIFE SLOGAN · Blue · medium
  • PARTY
  • REPEAT
  • SLEEP
  • STUDY

PARTY, REPEAT, SLEEP and STUDY are the four verbs in the well-known college-life mantra 'eat, sleep, study, party, repeat.' REPEAT is the quietest trap — it reads as a plain instruction or a music-player button before the slogan context snaps into place.

P STARTS OF U.S. CAPITALS · Purple · hardest
  • DEN
  • MAD
  • PHO
  • SAC

DEN, MAD, PHO and SAC are the first three letters of Denver, Madison, Phoenix and Sacramento — all U.S. state capitals. PHO is the cruelest entry: it reads so completely as Vietnamese soup that almost no one reaches for Arizona on a first pass.

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