Today’s NYT Connections puzzle #1155 for Sunday, August 9, 2026, mixes strategy changes, classic children’s books, movie subgenres and a group built around the phrase “get out of.”
The biggest distractions are BAD DREAM, ESCAPE ROOM, JURY DUTY and LABYRINTH. Their meanings seem unrelated at first, but all four become connected when the same action is applied to them.
NYT Connections hints for August 9
- Yellow: Different ways to change direction or adjust a plan.
- Green: Familiar books written for young children.
- Blue: Recognisable categories or styles of movies.
- Purple: Things or situations someone may try to escape.
Main trap: Several phrases sound broad enough to fit more than one possible category. Look for the most precise four-word relationship rather than relying on a loose theme.
Approach clue: Think of expressions used when a strategy is not working and needs to be redirected, adjusted or replaced.
Book clue: These are well-known titles that generations of readers first encountered during childhood.
Movie clue: Think of established film subgenres involving police partners, noir, large-scale science fiction and Westerns.
Escape clue: Ask which four answers naturally follow the idea of trying to “get out of” something.
Today’s NYT Connections answers
Reveal the Yellow Group
Category: Take a different approach
Answers: CHANGE TACK, COURSE-CORRECT, RECALIBRATE, SHIFT GEARS
All four describe adjusting direction or changing strategy. You can change tack when one approach fails, course-correct after spotting a problem, recalibrate a plan or shift gears and move in a different direction.
Reveal the Green Group
Category: Classic children’s books
Answers: CAPS FOR SALE, CORDUROY, GOODNIGHT MOON, MADELINE
Each answer is the title of a classic children’s book. Caps for Sale, Corduroy, Goodnight Moon and Madeline have remained familiar choices for generations of young readers.
Reveal the Blue Group
Category: Movie subgenres
Answers: BUDDY COP, NEO-NOIR, SPACE OPERA, SPAGHETTI WESTERN
Each phrase names a recognised movie subgenre. Buddy cop films centre on contrasting law-enforcement partners, neo-noir updates classic noir conventions, space opera features large-scale science-fiction adventures and spaghetti western describes a distinctive style of Western filmmaking.
Reveal the Purple Group
Category: Things people try to get out of
Answers: BAD DREAM, ESCAPE ROOM, JURY DUTY, LABYRINTH
Each answer fits naturally after the idea of trying to “get out of” something. A person may want to escape a bad dream, solve their way out of an escape room, be excused from jury duty or find a route out of a labyrinth.
Today’s solving lesson: When four answers seem unrelated, test whether they complete the same phrase or share a common action. Connections often builds its hardest category around expressions and word relationships rather than straightforward synonyms.
Players can attempt the official daily puzzle and review their results on the New York Times Connections page.
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