Today’s NYT Connections puzzle #1145 for July 30 challenges players to sort 16 words into four groups connected by a precise theme. Several words have multiple meanings, making some of the categories difficult to identify.
Today’s NYT Connections puzzle for Thursday, July 30, 2026, is puzzle #1145. The grid mixes words connected with virtue, games involving several balls, cruise companies and expressions meaning exact or precise.
The biggest distractions are RIGHT, FAIR, MARK, DOT and POOL. Several of these words have multiple meanings, making it easy to build a convincing but incorrect group.
NYT Connections hints for July 30
- Yellow: Words describing someone or something honest, principled or morally admirable.
- Green: Games or activities that normally involve several balls.
- Blue: Familiar names associated with ocean holidays and passenger ships.
- Purple: Each word completes a phrase beginning with “on the” and suggesting accuracy or precision.
Main trap: RIGHT is the most deceptive word because it can mean correct, indicate a direction or appear in several familiar expressions. In this puzzle, it belongs with words describing moral goodness.
Virtue clue: FAIR, GOOD and JUST can all describe honest or ethical behaviour. The fourth answer can also mean correct or proper.
Multiple-ball clue: BINGO, JUGGLING and POOL each use several balls. The remaining answer is a party game played with cups and ping-pong balls.
Travel clue: CARNIVAL, CELEBRITY, PRINCESS and VIKING may look unrelated at first. Think of companies known for cruises and sea-based holidays.
Precision clue: Place each answer after the words ON THE. The resulting phrases all suggest that something is exact, accurate or perfectly timed.
Today’s NYT Connections answers
Reveal the Yellow Group
Category: Virtuous
Answers: FAIR, GOOD, JUST, RIGHT
Each word can describe a person, action or decision considered honest, ethical or morally proper. RIGHT is the strongest distraction because it also has several unrelated everyday meanings.
Reveal the Green Group
Category: Activities with multiple balls
Answers: BEER PONG, BINGO, JUGGLING, POOL
Each activity involves several balls. Beer pong uses ping-pong balls, bingo machines contain numbered balls, juggling commonly uses multiple balls and pool is played with a complete set of billiard balls.
Reveal the Blue Group
Category: Cruise lines
Answers: CARNIVAL, CELEBRITY, PRINCESS, VIKING
Each word identifies a major cruise brand: Carnival Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, Princess Cruises and Viking. Their ordinary meanings help hide the travel connection.
Reveal the Purple Group
Category: On the ___, meaning “precise”
Answers: DOT, MARK, MONEY, NOSE
Adding each answer after ON THE creates an expression associated with accuracy: on the dot, on the mark, on the money and on the nose.
Today’s solving lesson: When more than four words appear to fit a possible category, look for the most exact relationship. Also test whether the remaining words complete familiar phrases when placed after the same opening words.
Players can attempt the official daily puzzle and review their results on the New York Times Connections page.
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