NYT Connections for Monday, July 13, 2026, puzzle #1128, mixed familiar names and everyday objects with several misleading secondary meanings. The board looked approachable at first, but words such as GRILL, PUMP, MUG and TOM could fit more than one possible category.
The hardest part was deciding when to ignore a word’s most obvious definition. One group depended on fictional characters, another on a shared physical feature, while the purple category required breaking longer words into meaningful openings.
The hints below begin broadly and become more revealing. Use the first set before moving to the stronger clues.
NYT Connections hints for July 13
- Yellow hint: Think about trying to get information from someone.
- Green hint: These everyday objects share one physical feature.
- Blue hint: These are well-known cats from different fictional worlds.
- Purple hint: Focus on the opening part of each word rather than its full meaning.
Stronger clues
Yellow: Each word can mean questioning or closely examining someone.
Green: The shared feature helps a person hold, carry or open the object.
Blue: The names come from animation, fairy tales, television and family entertainment.
Purple: Each word begins with a term that can describe a kiss.
Common wrong paths
GRILL, MUG, BUCKET and DRAWER may look like household or kitchen objects, but GRILL belongs elsewhere because its verbal meaning is more important.
BUCKET, MUG and PUMP can also suggest liquids, yet there is no convincing fourth word. The intended green category depends on a shared physical feature instead.
TOM, SALEM and FIGARO may look like ordinary names, while PUSS appears more general. The stronger connection is that all four refer to fictional cats.
The purple words are difficult because their full definitions do not connect. The relationship appears only when the opening fragments are separated from the rest of each word.
Today’s NYT Connections answers
Reveal the Yellow Group
Category: Interrogate
Answers: EXAMINE, GRILL, PUMP, QUESTION
Each word can describe questioning someone or trying to obtain information. QUESTION is the most direct match, while GRILL means to question intensely and PUMP can mean repeatedly pressing someone for details.
Best solving anchor: QUESTION provides the clearest starting point. From there, test verbs that could replace it in a sentence about seeking information.
Reveal the Green Group
Category: Things with handles
Answers: BUCKET, DRAWER, MUG, UMBRELLA
Each object has a handle. A bucket has a carrying handle, a drawer has a handle or pull, a mug has a side handle and an umbrella has a handle at the bottom of its shaft.
Best solving anchor: DRAWER is especially useful because its handle is central to how it is opened. UMBRELLA then helps confirm that the group is about physical features rather than location or purpose.
Reveal the Blue Group
Category: Fictional cats
Answers: FIGARO, PUSS, SALEM, TOM
Figaro is the cat associated with Disney’s Pinocchio. Puss refers to the famous fairy-tale feline, Salem is the talking cat from stories about Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and Tom is the cat from Tom and Jerry.
Main trap: TOM and SALEM can look like ordinary names, while PUSS may seem too general. Recognizing two of the characters is usually enough to reveal the full group.
Reveal the Purple Group
Category: Starting with smooches
Answers: BUSSIN, KISSER, PECKISH, SMACKDOWN
Each word begins with a term associated with a kiss:
BUSSIN begins with BUSS.
KISSER begins with KISS.
PECKISH begins with PECK.
SMACKDOWN begins with SMACK.
The full words have unrelated meanings, so the connection only becomes visible after separating their opening fragments.
Best solving anchor: KISSER and PECKISH provide the clearest starting pair. BUSS and SMACK are less obvious kissing terms, which is why this group is the purple category.
What made puzzle #1128 difficult?
Today’s board rewarded players who delayed selecting a group until all four answers fit precisely. Several words supported believable but incomplete household, container or name-based categories.
The yellow group relied on secondary verb meanings, the green category used a physical feature rather than a shared purpose, and the purple group required word splitting instead of direct definitions.
The most reliable route was to identify the fictional cats first, use QUESTION to find the interrogation verbs, group the remaining handled objects and leave the word-fragment category for last.
Players can attempt the official puzzle and review completed-game results on the New York Times Connections page.
Make Swikblog your go-to source on Google for reliable updates, smart insights, and daily trends.
