NYT Connections · #1141

NYT Connections Hints & Answers (#1141) — July 26, 2026

By Sneha Rajput·July 26, 2026

“Start with the group that feels most locked-in and concrete — once you pull those four out, the remaining words will sort themselves more cleanly.Today's puzzle has BLACKBERRY, which also appeared in Connections #312 (Mar 29, 2024). It was part of a group about things that can precede or follow a specific word — a very different role from the one it plays here.”

NYT Connections hints for July 26, 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 APRIL SHOWERSThe proverbial spring rain — as in 'April showers bring May flowers'.

2 BLACKBERRYLooks like a fruit; here it's the keyboard-phone brand that ruled corporate email before smartphones took over.

3 CARAPACEThe hard outer casing of a tortoise or crab — the biological version of the linking word.

4 CRAWLINGThe stage where parents suddenly need to baby-proof every low surface.

5 DISCMANSony's portable CD player — killed off by the iPod and then streaming.

6 DVD PLAYERThe box under the TV that streaming services made redundant.

7 FIRST WORDSUsually 'mama' or 'dada' — the moment parents grab their phones to record.

8 GAS STATIONOne of the world's largest petrol brands shares its name with the linking word — think of the yellow logo.

9 LIQUID SUNSHINEAn ironic, cheerful euphemism for rain, popular in places where it falls constantly.

10 PASTRY CRUSTThe baked casing that holds a tart or pie filling — named after the linking word in professional kitchens.

11 PLASMA TVThe heavy, expensive flat screen that LCD and OLED quickly replaced.

12 ROLLING OVERLooks like a finance term; here it's the move a baby masters before crawling.

13 ROWING BOATA racing shell is a long, narrow rowing boat used in competitive sculling — the linking word names the vessel.

14 SCOTCH MISTSounds like a cocktail; it's actually a Scottish term for cold, fine drizzle.

15 SOLID FOODThe milestone that ends the all-liquid diet — typically around six months.

16 WET WEATHERThe plainest of the four — a direct, no-frills way of saying it's raining.

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

A pediatrician ticks these off at the six-month check-up.

See Group

BABY MILESTONES

See Word

CRAWLING

See Word

FIRST WORDS

See Word

ROLLING OVER

See Word

SOLID FOOD

See Hint

You'd find these gathering dust in a 2005 living room.

See Group

OUTMODED CONSUMER TECH

See Word

BLACKBERRY

See Word

DISCMAN

See Word

DVD PLAYER

See Word

PLASMA TV

See Hint

Weather that makes a British person shrug and say 'typical'.

See Group

EXPRESSIONS FOR RAIN

See Word

APRIL SHOWERS

See Word

LIQUID SUNSHINE

See Word

SCOTCH MIST

See Word

WET WEATHER

See Hint

One short, common word quietly names all four of these things.

See Group

WHAT "SHELL" MIGHT REFER TO

See Word

CARAPACE

See Word

GAS STATION

See Word

PASTRY CRUST

See Word

ROWING BOAT

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 BLACKBERRY Tap to see why this word traps.

You're probably picturing the fruit — or even a baby snack — but here the puzzle is using it as a defunct smartphone brand, not anything edible.

2 ROLLING OVER Tap to see why this word traps.

You're probably thinking of a financial move like rolling over a loan or a CD, but the puzzle is using it in a much earlier stage of life.

3 SCOTCH MIST Tap to see why this word traps.

You're probably reading this as a whisky or cocktail reference, but it's actually a British expression for a particular kind of drizzly rain.

4 CARAPACE Tap to see why this word traps.

You're probably filing this under biology or zoology — it is a scientific term for a hard outer casing — but the puzzle is using it as one of several things a single everyday word can name.

NYT Connections answers for July 26, 2026

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

Y BABY MILESTONES · Yellow · easiest

CRAWLING
FIRST WORDS
ROLLING OVER
SOLID FOOD

CRAWLING, FIRST WORDS, ROLLING OVER and SOLID FOOD are all developmental milestones in a baby's first year. ROLLING OVER is the sneakiest — most solvers reach for financial jargon before the baby context clicks.

G OUTMODED CONSUMER TECH · Green · easy

BLACKBERRY
DISCMAN
DVD PLAYER
PLASMA TV

BLACKBERRY, DISCMAN, DVD PLAYER and PLASMA TV are all consumer gadgets that have been rendered obsolete. BLACKBERRY is the trickiest — it reads as a fruit first, but here it's the once-dominant smartphone that lost out to the iPhone era.

B EXPRESSIONS FOR RAIN · Blue · medium

APRIL SHOWERS
LIQUID SUNSHINE
SCOTCH MIST
WET WEATHER

APRIL SHOWERS, LIQUID SUNSHINE, SCOTCH MIST and WET WEATHER are all expressions used to describe rain. SCOTCH MIST is the standout — it's a real British and Irish term for fine, persistent drizzle, and nothing to do with whisky.

P WHAT "SHELL" MIGHT REFER TO · Purple · hardest

CARAPACE
GAS STATION
PASTRY CRUST
ROWING BOAT

CARAPACE, GAS STATION, PASTRY CRUST and ROWING BOAT are all things that a single five-letter word can refer to — the hard casing on a tortoise, a global fuel brand, the baked casing of a tart, and a narrow racing boat used in sculling. Spotting the link requires approaching each item from a completely different angle than the obvious one — none of the four words hint at the answer on the surface.

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