Today’s NYT Connections puzzle No. 1143 for Tuesday, July 28, 2026, challenges players to sort 16 words into four groups linked by command, apples, shoe brands and hidden palindromic names.
The biggest distractions are EMPIRE, CAMPER and CONVERSE. Their everyday meanings suggest power, travel or conversation, but each belongs to a more specific category.
NYT Connections hints for July 28
- Yellow: Words meaning to guide, manage or take charge.
- Green: Four well-known varieties of the same fruit.
- Blue: Footwear brands that all begin with the same letter.
- Purple: Each word begins with a name that reads the same forwards and backwards.
Main trap: EMPIRE appears to fit with CAPTAIN, HEAD and LEAD because it suggests power or authority. However, it belongs to the fruit category.
Fruit clue: FUJI, GALA and HONEYCRISP clearly point towards apples. The fourth answer can also describe a large territory ruled by one authority.
Brand clue: CAMPER, CLARKS, CONVERSE and CROCS are all footwear brands. Their shared first letter is essential to the category.
Wordplay clue: For the most difficult group, inspect the beginning of each longer word. Look for the names ANNA, BOB, EVE and OTTO.
Today’s NYT Connections answers
Reveal the Yellow Group
Category: Command
Answers: CAPTAIN, DIRECT, HEAD, LEAD
Each word can be used as a verb meaning to guide, manage or take charge. A person can captain a team, direct a project, head a department or lead a group.
Reveal the Green Group
Category: How do you like them apples?
Answers: EMPIRE, FUJI, GALA, HONEYCRISP
All four answers are apple varieties. EMPIRE is the main distraction because its more familiar meaning appears connected with leadership or control.
Reveal the Blue Group
Category: Shoe brands starting with “C”
Answers: CAMPER, CLARKS, CONVERSE, CROCS
Each answer is a footwear brand beginning with the letter C. CROCS and CONVERSE may be easiest to recognise, while CAMPER and CLARKS can initially look like ordinary words or names.
Reveal the Purple Group
Category: Starting with palindromic names
Answers: ANNAPOLIS, BOBSLED, EVEREST, OTTOMAN
Each word begins with a name that remains unchanged when read backwards: ANNApolis, BOBsled, EVErest and OTTOman.
Why Connections #1143 was tricky: Several answers have convincing meanings outside their intended categories. EMPIRE suggests authority, CAMPER describes a person, and CONVERSE can mean to speak with someone.
The green group becomes easier after recognising FUJI, GALA and HONEYCRISP as apples. EMPIRE then completes the set, despite appearing as though it could belong with command-related words.
The blue category depends on recognising brand names rather than ordinary meanings. The purple group is harder because the connection is hidden only in the opening letters of each answer.
Today’s solving lesson: When a word appears to fit more than one possible category, test whether all four answers share the exact same relationship. Also inspect prefixes, suffixes and smaller words hidden inside longer answers when the final group seems unrelated.
Players can attempt the official daily puzzle and review their results on the New York Times Connections page.
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