NYT Connections Hints & Answers — Sunday, April 12, 2026 (#1036)

Puzzle #1036. Start with a gentle nudge and work down — the full answers are at the bottom, hidden until you ask for them.

Just tell me the answer

The NYT Connections answer for Sunday, April 12, 2026 (puzzle #1036) is: YELLOW — PANTS FEATURES: BELT LOOP, CUFF, FLY, POCKET. GREEN — PERSPECTIVE: ANGLE, POSITION, STANCE, TAKE. BLUE — EMIT: CAST, PROJECT, RADIATE, SHED. PURPLE — ___ DOLL: PAPER, RAG, RUSSIAN, TROLL.

Today's 16 words

The grid exactly as NYT laid it out for Sunday, April 12, 2026. Nothing below this point is spoiled until you open it.

FLY
PAPER
TAKE
CAST
TROLL
PROJECT
POCKET
ANGLE
SHED
POSITION
RUSSIAN
CUFF
RAG
RADIATE
STANCE
BELT LOOP

How hard is Connections #1036?

Medium57/100
  • One category runs on wordplay rather than meaning.
  • Lots of very short words, which carry more possible meanings.
  • At least one entry is a phrase rather than a single word.

Where to start: Look for the four words that combine with "Doll" — locking that group down removes four red herrings from the rest of the grid.

Connections hints for Sunday, April 12, 2026

Four levels, each giving away a little more. Open only as many as you need.

NYT Connections answers for Sunday, April 12, 2026

Keep playing

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Common questions

What is the NYT Connections answer for Sunday, April 12, 2026?

The NYT Connections answer for Sunday, April 12, 2026 (puzzle #1036) is: YELLOW — PANTS FEATURES: BELT LOOP, CUFF, FLY, POCKET. GREEN — PERSPECTIVE: ANGLE, POSITION, STANCE, TAKE. BLUE — EMIT: CAST, PROJECT, RADIATE, SHED. PURPLE — ___ DOLL: PAPER, RAG, RUSSIAN, TROLL.

What is the purple group in Connections #1036?

The purple (hardest) group is "___ DOLL": PAPER, RAG, RUSSIAN, TROLL.

What is the easiest group in today's Connections puzzle?

The yellow group is the most straightforward: "PANTS FEATURES" — BELT LOOP, CUFF, FLY, POCKET. Solving it first removes four words from the grid.

What number is today's Connections puzzle?

Sunday, April 12, 2026 is NYT Connections puzzle #1036. Connections launched on 12 June 2023 with puzzle #1, and a new puzzle is published every day.

What time does a new NYT Connections puzzle come out?

A new Connections puzzle unlocks at midnight in your own local time zone, so the changeover happens at a different moment around the world. The puzzle itself is the same for everyone on a given date.