Today’s NYT Connections puzzle for Friday, July 31, 2026, is puzzle #1146. The challenge brings together construction terms, familiar Super Mario figures and two clever wordplay categories involving fruits and expressions of happiness.
The most misleading entries include SHAPE, MUSHROOM, SLIME, FUNGUS and JOYSTICK. Some suggest video games or unusual objects, while others conceal shorter words inside them.
NYT Connections hints for July 31
- Yellow: Verbs connected with creating, forming or constructing something.
- Green: Familiar types of characters found in the Super Mario universe.
- Blue: Remove the first letter from each word to reveal the name of a fruit.
- Purple: Each word begins with a short term associated with happiness, celebration or enjoyment.
Main trap: MUSHROOM, FUNGUS and SLIME can appear to form a nature-related group. However, MUSHROOM belongs with Super Mario figures, while FUNGUS and SLIME use separate wordplay patterns.
Construction clue: FASHION, MODEL, MOLD and SHAPE can all be used as verbs. Each describes making something or giving it a particular form.
Mario clue: Think about the recurring character types associated with Mario and Luigi. The four answers describe a dinosaur, a mushroom, a plumber and a princess.
Fruit clue: Look beyond the full meaning of each unusual word. Removing the opening letter reveals APPLE, DATE, LIME and PEAR.
Happiness clue: Focus on the beginning of each answer rather than the entire word. The hidden openings are CHEER, FUN, GLEE and JOY.
Today’s NYT Connections answers
Reveal the Yellow Group
Category: Construct
Answers: FASHION, MODEL, MOLD, SHAPE
Each word can function as a verb meaning to create, form or construct something. For example, a person can fashion an object, model a design, mold a material or shape a structure.
Reveal the Green Group
Category: Super Mario figures
Answers: DINOSAUR, MUSHROOM, PLUMBER, PRINCESS
These words describe recognizable figures from the Super Mario games. Yoshi is a dinosaur, Toad is a mushroom character, Mario and Luigi are plumbers, and Peach is a princess.
Reveal the Blue Group
Category: Fruits with an added first letter
Answers: DAPPLE, JDATE, SLIME, SPEAR
Removing the first letter from each answer produces a fruit: DAPPLE becomes APPLE, JDATE becomes DATE, SLIME becomes LIME and SPEAR becomes PEAR.
Reveal the Purple Group
Category: Starting with merriments
Answers: CHEERIOS, FUNGUS, GLEEK, JOYSTICK
Each answer starts with a word expressing happiness or enjoyment: CHEER in Cheerios, FUN in fungus, GLEE in gleek and JOY in joystick.
Today’s solving lesson: If several words seem connected by meaning, check whether a more precise spelling pattern is hiding in the grid. Removing one letter or separating the beginning of a word can reveal an entirely different category.
Players can attempt the official daily puzzle and review their results on the New York Times Connections page.
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