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NYT Connections · #1114

NYT Connections Hints & Answers (#1114) — June 29, 2026

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Earlier Jun 28 This puzzle Jun 29 Later Jun 30

“Scan every word for smaller words buried inside it before you commit to any group — at least four of these are not what they look like on the surface.EMBARK appeared in Connections #1108 (Mar 28, 2026) as a word meaning to step onto a vehicle. Today it plays a very different role. INHALE is being reused — it was part of eating voraciously in Connections #1068 (Feb 23, 2026) and plays the same role today.”

NYT Connections hints for June 29, 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 CABINETNot furniture — the wooden or plastic enclosure that houses the speaker drivers.
2 CONEThe funnel-shaped diaphragm that vibrates to push sound into the room.
3 CRUSHMore often a verb for applying force or a romantic feeling — here it means to devour eagerly.
4 EMBARKMeans to board a vessel — but its final four letters spell BARK, the outer layer of a tree.
5 GROOTThe Marvel tree-creature — fittingly, its last four letters spell ROOT.
6 GUZZLETo drink greedily and noisily — the most liquid-focused word of the four.
7 INHALENormally about breathing — here it means to eat so fast the food barely touches the plate.
8 MAGNETSits at the back of the driver and creates the magnetic field that moves the cone.
9 MISCREANTThe most formal of the four — a wrongdoer in the most theatrical sense.
10 NUDIBRANCHA colourful sea slug — BRANCH hides at the end, making this the hardest to spot.
11 ROGUECarries modern connotations of rogue AI and X-Men, but here it's a plain old villain.
12 RUFFIANA rough, violent troublemaker — the street-brawler of the group.
13 SCOUNDRELA dishonest rascal — Han Solo's favourite self-description.
14 SNARFTo eat messily and greedily — the most informal and playful of the group.
15 STRUNKAs in Strunk & White, the classic writing style guide co-authored by William Strunk Jr. — his surname ends in TRUNK.
16 WOOFERSounds like a dog — it's actually the large driver built to reproduce low bass frequencies.
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 A Victorian villain by any other name.
See Group OLD TIMEY TROUBLEMAKERS
See WordMISCREANT
See WordROGUE
See WordRUFFIAN
See WordSCOUNDREL
See Hint How someone eats when they skipped lunch.
See Group CONSUME WITH GUSTO
See WordCRUSH
See WordGUZZLE
See WordINHALE
See WordSNARF
See Hint What an audio engineer opens the back panel to find.
See Group PARTS OF A SPEAKER
See WordCABINET
See WordCONE
See WordMAGNET
See WordWOOFER
See Hint Say each word aloud and listen for something you might find in a forest.
See Group ENDING IN PARTS OF A TREE
See WordEMBARK
See WordGROOT
See WordNUDIBRANCH
See WordSTRUNK
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 GROOT Tap to see why this word traps.
You're almost certainly picturing the Marvel character — but the puzzle is not about pop culture. Look at the last four letters and think about trees.
2 EMBARK Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably reading it as 'to begin a journey or board a ship' — but here the puzzle is using it as a container for a tree-related word, not as a travel term.
3 WOOFER Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably thinking of a dog — that's the bait. Here it's a technical audio component, not an animal.
4 CABINET Tap to see why this word traps.
You're likely picturing a piece of furniture or a government body, but here it refers to the housing that encloses a speaker.

NYT Connections answers for June 29, 2026

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

Y OLD TIMEY TROUBLEMAKERS · Yellow · easiest
  • MISCREANT
  • ROGUE
  • RUFFIAN
  • SCOUNDREL

MISCREANT, ROGUE, RUFFIAN and SCOUNDREL are all old-fashioned words for a bad person or troublemaker. ROGUE is the sneakiest — its modern pop-culture baggage (X-Men, rogue AI) can make solvers second-guess whether it belongs here.

G CONSUME WITH GUSTO · Green · easy
  • CRUSH
  • GUZZLE
  • INHALE
  • SNARF

CRUSH, GUZZLE, INHALE and SNARF all mean to eat or drink with urgent, greedy enthusiasm. INHALE is the most vivid — it implies food disappearing so fast it might as well have been breathed in.

B PARTS OF A SPEAKER · Blue · medium
  • CABINET
  • CONE
  • MAGNET
  • WOOFER

CABINET, CONE, MAGNET and WOOFER are all physical components of a loudspeaker. The CONE is the paper or plastic diaphragm that actually moves air to produce sound, while the MAGNET drives the whole mechanism.

P ENDING IN PARTS OF A TREE · Purple · hardest
  • EMBARK
  • GROOT
  • NUDIBRANCH
  • STRUNK

EMBARK, GROOT, NUDIBRANCH and STRUNK each end with a part of a tree: BARK, ROOT, BRANCH and TRUNK respectively. NUDIBRANCH is the most obscure — it's a type of sea slug, and almost no one spots BRANCH hiding inside it without a nudge.

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