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NYT Connections · #1139

NYT Connections Hints & Answers (#1139) — July 24, 2026

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“Say the purple words out loud before you commit them to any other group — your ears will do the work your eyes cannot.DRONE and SPARK both have history here. DRONE appeared in Connections #1026 (Apr 2, 2026) as a male animal, and in Connections #245 (Feb 11, 2024) among monotonous sounds. SPARK has shown up as a romantic vibe in Connections #827 (Sep 15, 2025) and as a starting point in Connections #684 (Apr 25, 2025) — today it means something closer to neither of those.”

NYT Connections hints for July 24, 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 BABBLETo talk rapidly and at length without saying much — also what infants do before real words arrive.
2 CANTERSounds like 'cantor' — the trained singer who leads liturgical chanting in a synagogue or church.
3 DRONELooks like a UAV or a buzzing noise; here it's a verb for speaking on and on in a dull monotone.
4 FRYERSounds like 'friar' — a member of a mendicant religious order such as the Franciscans.
5 HOME RUNThe best outcome for a batter — all bases cleared in one hit.
6 JOGLooks like slow running; here it's the verb in 'jog your memory' — to nudge a recollection back to the surface.
7 LLAMASounds like 'lama' — a Tibetan Buddhist monk or spiritual teacher; the animal spelling is pure camouflage.
8 NONESounds like 'nun' — a woman who has taken religious vows and lives in a convent.
9 PROMPTTo cue someone's memory — also what an actor gets from the wings when they forget a line.
10 RAMBLETo wander verbally through a topic without ever reaching the point.
11 REFRESHTo bring a memory back to full clarity — not the browser button here.
12 SINGLEA one-base hit — the most common positive outcome at the plate.
13 SPARKLooks like a flame or electrical flash; here it means to ignite a memory rather than a fire.
14 STRIKEOUTThree strikes and the batter is done — the pitcher wins this one.
15 WALKLooks like a stroll; in baseball it means four balls earned the batter a free pass to first.
16 YAKSlang for chattering away — the animal spelling is the bait.
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 What a bore at a party does for too long.
See Group TALK AT LENGTH
See WordBABBLE
See WordDRONE
See WordRAMBLE
See WordYAK
See Hint What the scoreboard records after each trip to the plate.
See Group OUTCOMES FOR A BATTER
See WordHOME RUN
See WordSINGLE
See WordSTRIKEOUT
See WordWALK
See Hint What a faded detail needs before it comes back to you.
See Group BRING TO MIND, AS A MEMORY
See WordJOG
See WordPROMPT
See WordREFRESH
See WordSPARK
See Hint Each one sounds like someone you'd find in a place of worship.
See Group HOMOPHONES OF RELIGIOUS ROLES
See WordCANTER
See WordFRYER
See WordLLAMA
See WordNONE
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 DRONE Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably picturing a buzzing UAV or a monotonous hum — but here the puzzle is using it as a verb for talking on and on, not making noise.
2 JOG Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably reading it as slow running, which makes it look like it belongs with movement words — but here it's used in a memory context, not a physical one.
3 CANTER Tap to see why this word traps.
You're almost certainly thinking of a horse's gait — that's the bait, and nothing on this grid is about movement speeds.
4 LLAMA Tap to see why this word traps.
You're picturing the South American animal — but the puzzle is using it for its sound, not its species.
5 NONE Tap to see why this word traps.
You're reading it as 'not any' or zero — but the puzzle wants you to hear it rather than read it.

NYT Connections answers for July 24, 2026

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

Y TALK AT LENGTH · Yellow · easiest
  • BABBLE
  • DRONE
  • RAMBLE
  • YAK

BABBLE, DRONE, RAMBLE and YAK all mean to talk at excessive length. DRONE is the sneakiest — most solvers picture a buzzing aircraft or a monotonous sound before the 'tedious talker' sense clicks.

G OUTCOMES FOR A BATTER · Green · easy
  • HOME RUN
  • SINGLE
  • STRIKEOUT
  • WALK

HOME RUN, SINGLE, STRIKEOUT and WALK are all possible outcomes for a baseball batter in a single plate appearance. WALK is the trickiest — it reads as ordinary movement, but in baseball it means reaching first base on four balls.

B BRING TO MIND, AS A MEMORY · Blue · medium
  • JOG
  • PROMPT
  • REFRESH
  • SPARK

JOG, PROMPT, REFRESH and SPARK all mean to trigger or bring back a memory. JOG is the most misleading — 'jog your memory' is the idiom, but the physical running sense pulls most solvers toward a sports grouping.

P HOMOPHONES OF RELIGIOUS ROLES · Purple · hardest
  • CANTER
  • FRYER
  • LLAMA
  • NONE

CANTER, FRYER, LLAMA and NONE are homophones of religious roles: cantor, friar, lama and nun. LLAMA is the most disorienting — the double-L animal spelling hides the single-L Tibetan Buddhist monk entirely.

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