NYT Connections Hints & Answers — Wednesday, July 29, 2026 (#1144)

Puzzle #1144. 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 Wednesday, July 29, 2026 (puzzle #1144) is: YELLOW — FASTENERS: NAIL, RIVET, SCREW, STAPLE. GREEN — NONDESCRIPT: BASIC, MID, PLAIN, VANILLA. BLUE — UNITS OF WISDOM: GEM, NUGGET, PEARL, WORD. PURPLE — ___BOARDS IN A CLASSROOM: BLACK, CHALK, CORK, WHITE.

Today's 16 words

The grid exactly as NYT laid it out for Wednesday, July 29, 2026. Nothing below this point is spoiled until you open it.

CORK
PEARL
BASIC
STAPLE
MID
WORD
CHALK
WHITE
BLACK
VANILLA
GEM
NAIL
RIVET
NUGGET
SCREW
PLAIN

How hard is Connections #1144?

Medium42/100
  • One category runs on wordplay rather than meaning.

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

Connections hints for Wednesday, July 29, 2026

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

NYT Connections answers for Wednesday, July 29, 2026

Keep playing

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Common questions

What is the NYT Connections answer for Wednesday, July 29, 2026?

The NYT Connections answer for Wednesday, July 29, 2026 (puzzle #1144) is: YELLOW — FASTENERS: NAIL, RIVET, SCREW, STAPLE. GREEN — NONDESCRIPT: BASIC, MID, PLAIN, VANILLA. BLUE — UNITS OF WISDOM: GEM, NUGGET, PEARL, WORD. PURPLE — ___BOARDS IN A CLASSROOM: BLACK, CHALK, CORK, WHITE.

What is the purple group in Connections #1144?

The purple (hardest) group is "___BOARDS IN A CLASSROOM": BLACK, CHALK, CORK, WHITE.

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

The yellow group is the most straightforward: "FASTENERS" — NAIL, RIVET, SCREW, STAPLE. Solving it first removes four words from the grid.

What number is today's Connections puzzle?

Wednesday, July 29, 2026 is NYT Connections puzzle #1144. 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.