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NYT Connections · #1119

NYT Connections Hints & Answers (#1119) — July 4, 2026

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“When a word feels too obvious for one group, test it against the others before you commit — several words here have a second life that the puzzle is counting on you to miss.LAST and STAY both appeared in Connections #766 (Jun 8, 2025). They were part of a group about remaining or enduring.”

NYT Connections hints for July 4, 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 BALLADA narrative poem — or song — that tells a story, often a tragic one.
2 CONTINUEThe most straightforward of the four — to keep going without stopping.
3 DREAMSSWEET DREAMS — the bedtime send-off, and an Eurythmics song.
4 EPICA long narrative poem on a grand scale; think Homer, not a movie runtime.
5 HURRICANEA New Orleans staple made with rum and passion fruit syrup — not a weather event.
6 LASTReads like 'final' at first glance, but here it's a verb meaning to hold out or endure.
7 LINGERTo stay somewhere longer than expected, often with a reluctant or wistful quality.
8 NOTHINGSSWEET NOTHINGS — tender, affectionate words whispered to someone; the trickiest phrase to reconstruct from a single word.
9 ODEA lyric poem of praise or reflection — Keats wrote some of the most famous ones.
10 PAINKILLERA rum cocktail from the British Virgin Islands made with pineapple juice, orange juice and coconut cream.
11 PEASWEET PEA — a flowering climbing plant, and a common term of endearment.
12 SCORPIONA tiki punch typically served in a scorpion bowl — the arachnid is just the name.
13 SPOTSWEET SPOT — the ideal point where conditions are just right; looks like a location or stain on its own.
14 STAYThe plainest of the group — to remain in place rather than leave.
15 VILLANELLEA 19-line poem with a strict repeating refrain structure; Dylan Thomas's 'Do Not Go Gentle' is one.
16 ZOMBIEA notoriously strong tiki drink with multiple rums — the undead association 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 Time passes, but these four words refuse to leave.
See Group PERSIST
See WordCONTINUE
See WordLAST
See WordLINGER
See WordSTAY
See Hint An English class would cover all four of these forms.
See Group KINDS OF POEMS
See WordBALLAD
See WordEPIC
See WordODE
See WordVILLANELLE
See Hint Order one of these at a tiki bar and brace yourself.
See Group TROPICAL DRINKS
See WordHURRICANE
See WordPAINKILLER
See WordSCORPION
See WordZOMBIE
See Hint One word turns each of these into something warmer.
See Group SWEET ___
See WordDREAMS
See WordNOTHINGS
See WordPEA
See WordSPOT
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 HURRICANE Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably picturing a violent tropical storm — that's the bait. Here it's a specific cocktail, not a weather event.
2 ZOMBIE Tap to see why this word traps.
You're almost certainly thinking of the undead creature, but the puzzle is using it as a drink name, not a horror reference.
3 LAST Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably reading it as an adjective meaning final or most recent, but the puzzle wants it as a verb meaning to endure.
4 SPOT Tap to see why this word traps.
You're likely thinking of a location or a stain, but here it completes a two-word phrase — the noun sense is a red herring.

NYT Connections answers for July 4, 2026

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

Y PERSIST · Yellow · easiest
  • CONTINUE
  • LAST
  • LINGER
  • STAY

CONTINUE, LAST, LINGER and STAY are all verbs meaning to keep going or remain. LAST is the sneakiest — most solvers instinctively read it as an adjective (the last one) before the verb sense clicks.

G KINDS OF POEMS · Green · easy
  • BALLAD
  • EPIC
  • ODE
  • VILLANELLE

BALLAD, EPIC, ODE and VILLANELLE are all recognised poetic forms. VILLANELLE is the giveaway that locks the group — it has no other common meaning, making it the anchor word here.

B TROPICAL DRINKS · Blue · medium
  • HURRICANE
  • PAINKILLER
  • SCORPION
  • ZOMBIE

HURRICANE, PAINKILLER, SCORPION and ZOMBIE are all classic tropical or tiki cocktails. The ZOMBIE is the most potent of the group — it traditionally contains three types of rum and was famously limited to two per customer at Don the Beachcomber.

P SWEET ___ · Purple · hardest
  • DREAMS
  • NOTHINGS
  • PEA
  • SPOT

DREAMS, NOTHINGS, PEA and SPOT all follow the word SWEET to form familiar phrases: sweet dreams, sweet nothings, sweet pea and sweet spot. NOTHINGS is the hardest to land on — 'sweet nothings' is an idiom for affectionate murmurs, and the word alone gives almost no hint of that.

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