NYT Connections Answer

Welcome to another daily breakdown of the New York Times Connections puzzle! If you're tackling the answer for 2026-04-10, you might have found yourself getting a bit hungry—or perhaps feeling a little "blue."

Today’s grid is a delightful mix of culinary terms, mechanical surprises, and a trip down memory lane with some iconic fictional characters. Whether you’re stuck on the last few words or just want to see if your logic matches the editor’s, here is the full solution and explanation for today's puzzle.

Helpful Hints for Today's Puzzle

Before we dive into the full reveal, here are a few NYT Connections hints to help you solve it on your own:

1. Yellow Group: Think about the produce aisle or a spicy menu.
2. Green Group: These items all have a mechanical "action" in common involving vertical movement.
3. Blue Group: Focus on the characteristics of a very specific type of dairy product.
4. Purple Group: Look at the names of these characters—what color do they all have in common?

Connections Group Results

Yellow: Peppers

This group is quite straightforward if you enjoy a little spice in your life. These are all different varieties of peppers ranging from zero heat to "call the fire department."

• BELL PEPPER: The sweet, crunchy staple of salads and stir-fries.
• CAROLINA REAPER: Widely known as one of the hottest chili peppers in existence.
• CHIPOTLE: A smoke-dried jalapeño often found in adobo sauce.
• PEPPERONCINO: Those mild, tangy peppers you often find in a Papa John's box or at an Italian deli.

Green: Things That Pop Up

This category focuses on objects designed to spring upward suddenly, either by a spring mechanism or a blast of air.

• EJECTOR SEAT: A pilot's last resort that launches them out of a plane.
• JACK-IN-THE-BOX: The classic (and sometimes creepy) spring-loaded toy.
• POP-UP BOOK: A book with paper mechanics that create 3D scenes when opened.
• TOASTER: The kitchen appliance that "pops" your bread when it's done.

Blue: Descriptors for Swiss Cheese

If you were thinking of "holes," you were on the right track. This group identifies the specific traits used to define Swiss (Emmental-style) cheese.

• FIRM: Referring to the semi-hard texture of the cheese.
• HOLEY: The most famous trait, caused by gas bubbles during fermentation.
• NUTTY: The classic flavor profile associated with Swiss cheese.
• SWISS: A bit of a "meta" inclusion, as the cheese itself is defined by its name.

Purple: Blue Characters

This is the "trickiest" category, where the link isn't immediately obvious until you look at the characters' appearances. Every one of these famous figures is physically blue!

• BLUE: The titular puppy from Blue's Clues.
• GENIE: The magical, wish-granting powerhouse from Disney’s Aladdin.
• GONZO: The eccentric, daredevil Muppet.
• SONIC: The fastest hedgehog in gaming history.

How Did You Do?

Today's puzzle required a bit of lateral thinking for the Blue and Purple categories. Using "Swiss" to describe Swiss cheese is the kind of cheeky wordplay Wyna Liu loves to include to throw players off balance. Meanwhile, seeing Gonzo and Genie together might have made you think of "G" names, but the color connection is what ultimately tied them to Sonic and Blue.

Whether you got a "Perfect" or just barely squeaked by with one life left, I hope this guide helped you make sense of the grid!

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you play NYT Connections?

In Connections, you are given 16 words and must group them into four sets of four. Each set must share a common theme. You have four lives; every time you guess a group incorrectly, you lose a life. The categories are color-coded by difficulty: Yellow (Easiest), Green, Blue, and Purple (Hardest).

When does the NYT Connections reset?

The puzzle resets every day at midnight in your local time zone. This means you always have a fresh challenge waiting for you when you wake up!

Is there always a "trick" category?

Usually, yes! The Purple category is almost always the most abstract. It often involves wordplay (like "Words that end in a body part") or specific trivia (like "Blue characters" in today's puzzle).

Can words belong to more than one category?

The editors often include "red herrings"—words that could fit into multiple categories. For example, "Bell" could have been part of a "Things that Ring" category, but in this puzzle, it only worked within the "Peppers" group to complete a set of four.