NYT Connections · #1122

NYT Connections Hints & Answers (#1122) — July 7, 2026

Before you lock in any group that feels obvious, check whether a word's most natural meaning is actually a decoy pulling you somewhere it doesn't belong.

HALL and STUDY both appeared in Connections #272 (Mar 4, 2024) and play the same role today. FRENCH has appeared several times before — as a famous revolution in Connections #1134 (May 3, 2026), and as a press type in Connections #1074 (Feb 27, 2026).

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Traps & Misdirects for July 7, 2026

The decoys built into this puzzle — and why each one bites.

OLIVER Decoy

You're probably reading it as a standalone first name — a person, not a phrase — but the puzzle is using it as the opening word of a compound that completes a well-known title.

HALL Decoy

You're probably picturing a school hallway or a Hall of Fame, which pulls it toward an athletic context — but here it's a room in a board game.

STUDY Decoy

You're probably thinking of academic studying, which fits a student theme perfectly — but the puzzle is using it as a room, not an activity.

BERNIE Decoy

You're probably thinking of a famous politician or a movie — but the puzzle is using it for what's tucked inside its final letters, not the celebrity.

COLBERT Decoy

You're probably picturing the TV host — but the puzzle is using it for what's hidden at the end of the word, not the person.

NYT Connections Word Clues for July 7, 2026

Spoiler-free meaning for every word in the grid.

ALL-AMERICAN

The highest national honour a college athlete can receive.

BERNIE

Ends in ERNIE — the rubber-duckie-loving roommate of Bert.

COLBERT

Ends in BERT — Ernie's tidy, pigeon-fancying best friend.

CONSERVATORY

The grand, glassy room where the lead pipe might turn up.

DISCOUNT

Ends in COUNT — the vampire who loves to count things. Ah ah ah.

FRENCH

A French Twist is a classic upswept hairstyle.

HALL

Looks like a school corridor; here it's the entrance room on the Clue board.

JOCK

Informal label for the sporty kid — not always flattering.

KITCHEN

The room where the knife lives — fitting for a murder mystery.

LEMON

A lemon twist is the citrus peel curl dropped into a cocktail.

LETTERMAN

An athlete who earned the right to wear the school's initial on their jacket.

OLIVER

Oliver Twist — Dickens's hungry orphan who asked for more.

PLOT

A plot twist is the story turn that makes you gasp.

SAN ANSELMO

Ends in ELMO — the furry red monster with his own ticklish corner of the street.

STUDY

Looks like an academic activity; here it's the book-lined room in Clue.

TEAM CAPTAIN

The player voted to lead the locker room and the huddle.

NYT Connections Hints for July 7, 2026

Reveal exactly what you need — a hint, the group name, or a single word.

See hint
Colonel Mustard could be caught in any of these.
See group
ROOMS IN CLUE
See word
CONSERVATORY
See word
HALL
See word
KITCHEN
See word
STUDY
See hint
Titles earned on the field, in the gym, or on the roster.
See group
STUDENT-ATHLETE DESIGNATIONS
See word
ALL-AMERICAN
See word
JOCK
See word
LETTERMAN
See word
TEAM CAPTAIN
See hint
Say each one aloud and add the same word after — you'll recognise every result.
See group
___ TWIST
See word
FRENCH
See word
LEMON
See word
OLIVER
See word
PLOT
See hint
A beloved street's residents are hiding inside these words.
See group
ENDING IN "SESAME STREET" CHARACTERS
See word
BERNIE
See word
COLBERT
See word
DISCOUNT
See word
SAN ANSELMO

NYT Connections Answers for July 7, 2026

Full spoilers — all four groups revealed.

Yellow group

Rooms in clue

  • CONSERVATORY
  • HALL
  • KITCHEN
  • STUDY

CONSERVATORY, HALL, KITCHEN and STUDY are all rooms in the board game Clue. STUDY is the sneakiest — its academic meaning pulls solvers toward a student-athlete reading before the Clue connection clicks.

Green group

Student-athlete designations

  • ALL-AMERICAN
  • JOCK
  • LETTERMAN
  • TEAM CAPTAIN

ALL-AMERICAN, JOCK, LETTERMAN and TEAM CAPTAIN are all designations given to student-athletes. LETTERMAN is the most specific — it refers to an athlete who has officially earned their school's letter by meeting performance standards.

Blue group

___ twist

  • FRENCH
  • LEMON
  • OLIVER
  • PLOT

FRENCH, LEMON, OLIVER and PLOT all precede the word TWIST to make a recognisable phrase or title. OLIVER is the trickiest — most solvers read it as a standalone first name rather than the opening word of a famous compound.

Purple group

Ending in "sesame street" characters

  • BERNIE
  • COLBERT
  • DISCOUNT
  • SAN ANSELMO

BERNIE, COLBERT, DISCOUNT and SAN ANSELMO each end with the name of a Sesame Street character: ERNIE, BERT, COUNT and ELMO respectively. DISCOUNT is the hardest to crack — COUNT von Count is easy to forget, and the word looks completely unrelated to any category.