NYT Connections hints and answers for Monday, July 20 (game #1135)

Looking for NYT Connections answers and hints? Here's all you need to know to solve today's game, plus my commentary on the puzzles.

Jul 20, 2026 0 0

NYT Connections hints and answers for Monday, July 20 (game #1135)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Sunday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Sunday, July 19 (game #1134).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #1135) - today's words

NYT Connections hints for game 1135 on a purple background — (Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

OYSTER
MEADOW
WISDOM
SOUND
BUTTON
BUBBLE TEA
PORTOBELLO
MENU
TRUMPET
ICON
HERALD
SWINE
SAKES
BLARE
LINK
ALEXA

NYT Connections today (game #1135) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

YELLOW: Say it loud
GREEN: Move your mouse here
BLUE: A jewel in common
PURPLE: Begin with old booze

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #1135) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

YELLOW: ANNOUNCE
GREEN: THINGS TO CLICK
BLUE: ASSOCIATED WITH PEARLS
PURPLE: STARTING WITH ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #1135) - the answers

NYT Connections answers for game 1135 on a purple background — (Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #1135, are…

YELLOW: ANNOUNCE: BLARE, HERALD, SOUND, TRUMPET
GREEN: THINGS TO CLICK: BUTTON, ICON, LINK, MENU
BLUE: ASSOCIATED WITH PEARLS: BUBBLE TEA, OYSTER, SWINE, WISDOM
PURPLE: STARTING WITH ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES: ALEXA, MEADOW, PORTOBELLO, SAKES

My rating: Hard
My score: 2 mistakes

I hope I wasn’t the only person to struggle over this game. I had a stinker.

My first mistake was to connect the four mushroom varieties of OYSTER, BUTTON, PORTOBELLO, and TRUMPET. It is annoying when you find a genuine foursome but it is not part of the game.

However, my next mistake was of my own doing: I connected BUBBLE TEA, SAKES, ALEXA and OYSTER, thinking there was some vague Asian connection.

After two very wrong attempts I studied the tiles more closely and got the ANNOUNCE foursome and even the old-fashioned drinks that made up the purple group.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Sunday, July 19, 2026, game #1134)

YELLOW: CIRCUIT COMPONENTS: BREAKER, FUSE, RELAY, SWITCH
GREEN: DIGITAL COUPLING VERBS: CONNECT, JOIN, PAIR, SYNC
BLUE: THINGS TOILETS DO: DRAIN, FLUSH, REFILL, SWIRL
PURPLE: ____ FACE EXPRESSIONS: GAME, LONG, POKER, STRAIGHT

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.