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NYT Connections · #1138

NYT Connections Hints & Answers (#1138) — July 23, 2026

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“Scan every word for something hidden inside it before you commit to any group — at least four words here are not what they appear to be on the surface.HANGAR, RUNWAY and TERMINAL appeared together in Connections #269 (Mar 6, 2024) as airport locations. GLOBE and MARBLE also appeared together in Connections #137 (Oct 26, 2023) as spherical things.”

NYT Connections hints for July 23, 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 APPOINTEnds in POINT — a geometry term for a location with no dimensions.
2 APRONNot a kitchen garment — the paved ramp area where planes are parked and loaded.
3 BASEBALLA stitched leather sphere — the shape is the whole point here, not the sport.
4 DEPLANELooks airport-related, but it's here because it ends in PLANE — a flat two-dimensional surface.
5 EXCITEDThe mildest of the four — keyed up, but tipping toward anxious energy.
6 FEBRILELiterally means feverish; used figuratively for a state of nervous, agitated excitement.
7 FELINELooks like a cat word, but it ends in LINE — a geometry term for a straight, infinite path.
8 FRENETICFast, chaotic and barely controlled — the most visibly frenzied of the group.
9 GLOBEA model of the Earth in its most literal, roundest form.
10 HANGARThe large shed where aircraft are stored and maintained — note the spelling, not a clothes hanger.
11 INTENSELooks like a general descriptor; here it means wound tight with focused, anxious energy.
12 JANGLEEnds in ANGLE — the geometry term for the space between two intersecting lines.
13 MARBLEA tiny glass sphere — the toy, not the stone or the cake flavour.
14 ORANGEThink fruit, not colour — it's here because of its perfectly round shape.
15 RUNWAYThe long strip of tarmac planes use to take off and land.
16 TERMINALNot a computer screen or a final stop — the passenger building where you check in and board.
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 Each one rolls, and none of them has a flat side.
See Group SPHERICAL THINGS
See WordBASEBALL
See WordGLOBE
See WordMARBLE
See WordORANGE
See Hint Wound up, on edge, unable to sit still.
See Group IN AN ANXIOUS STATE
See WordEXCITED
See WordFEBRILE
See WordFRENETIC
See WordINTENSE
See Hint You pass through or park at each of these before takeoff.
See Group PARTS OF AN AIRPORT
See WordAPRON
See WordHANGAR
See WordRUNWAY
See WordTERMINAL
See Hint A math teacher would spot what each of these words is hiding.
See Group ENDING IN GEOMETRY TERMS
See WordAPPOINT
See WordDEPLANE
See WordFELINE
See WordJANGLE
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 TERMINAL Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably picturing a computer screen or a final destination — but here it's the passenger building at an airport, not a tech or death-adjacent concept.
2 APRON Tap to see why this word traps.
You're almost certainly thinking of the kitchen garment — but the puzzle is using it as an aviation term for the paved area where planes are parked.
3 DEPLANE Tap to see why this word traps.
You're reading it as an airport action — getting off a plane — but the puzzle is treating it as a word with a geometry term buried at its end, not an airport word.
4 FELINE Tap to see why this word traps.
You're thinking cats — but the puzzle is using it because of what's hiding at the end of the word, not anything to do with animals.
5 FEBRILE Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably reading it as a medical term for fever — but here it means nervously frenzied, placing it firmly in an emotional rather than clinical group.

NYT Connections answers for July 23, 2026

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

Y SPHERICAL THINGS · Yellow · easiest
  • BASEBALL
  • GLOBE
  • MARBLE
  • ORANGE

BASEBALL, GLOBE, MARBLE and ORANGE are all spherical objects. ORANGE is the sneakiest — most solvers think of the colour first and forget they're looking at a round fruit.

G IN AN ANXIOUS STATE · Green · easy
  • EXCITED
  • FEBRILE
  • FRENETIC
  • INTENSE

EXCITED, FEBRILE, FRENETIC and INTENSE all describe an anxious or frenzied mental state. FEBRILE is the hardest — it literally means feverish, but its figurative sense of nervous agitation is what earns it a place here.

B PARTS OF AN AIRPORT · Blue · medium
  • APRON
  • HANGAR
  • RUNWAY
  • TERMINAL

APRON, HANGAR, RUNWAY and TERMINAL are all parts of an airport. APRON is the trickiest — it's the paved area where aircraft are parked and serviced, a term most non-pilots have never encountered.

P ENDING IN GEOMETRY TERMS · Purple · hardest
  • APPOINT
  • DEPLANE
  • FELINE
  • JANGLE

APPOINT, DEPLANE, FELINE and JANGLE each end in a geometry term: POINT, PLANE, LINE and ANGLE respectively. DEPLANE is the cruelest trap — it looks like an airport word, but the puzzle wants the PLANE hidden at its tail, not its aviation meaning.

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