NYT Connections Hint and Answer for April 18, 2026

Welcome, puzzle lovers! If you’ve opened your NYT Connections grid today and found yourself staring at words like "Pepsinogen" and "Fantagraphics," you aren’t alone in feeling a bit winded. Today’s puzzle, curated by Wyna Liu, is a delightful mix of physics, sports metaphors, and some very clever wordplay hidden inside longer terms.

Whether you are looking for a gentle nudge or the full answer for 2026-04-18, we’ve got you covered. Let’s dive into the breakdown!

Hints for Today's Categories

If you want to solve the puzzle yourself, here are some NYT Connections hints to get your brain moving in the right direction:

• Yellow Group: Ways you might look at something truly incredible.
• Green Group: Common terms for a competitor who isn't expected to win.
• Blue Group: High-school science class basics regarding current.
• Purple Group: Focus on the first few letters of these longer, more complex words. They all share a bubbly theme.

Detailed Category Breakdown

Yellow: LOOK AT WITH AWE

These words all describe the act of gazing at something with amazement or disbelief.

• GOGGLE
• MARVEL
• STARE
• WONDER

Explanation: While "stare" can be neutral, when grouped with "marvel" and "wonder," it takes on that sense of being transfixed by something impressive. "Goggle" is the outlier that might trip you up—it means to look with wide eyes in surprise.

Green: UNEXPECTED WINNER

If you follow sports or politics, these terms should feel very familiar. They describe the "long odds" candidates.

• DARK HORSE
• LONG SHOT
• SLEEPER
• UNDERDOG

Explanation: A "sleeper" is often used in fantasy sports or box office talk for something that becomes a hit unexpectedly, while "dark horse" and "underdog" are classic idioms for the person no one saw coming.

Blue: BASIC ELECTRICITY TERMS

This group is for the STEM fans. These are fundamental units and types of electrical flow.

• AC
• DC
• POWER
• VOLTAGE

Explanation: AC and DC (Alternating Current and Direct Current) are the two ways electricity flows. Voltage and Power (measured in Watts) are the standard metrics for how that electricity is delivered. (And yes, seeing AC and DC next to each other always makes us think of the rock band!)

Purple: STARTING WITH SODA BRANDS

This is the "trick" category for the day. You have to ignore the meaning of the full word and just look at the prefix.

• CRUSHWORTHY (Crush)
• FANTAGRAPHICS (Fanta)
• FRESCADE (Fresca)
• PEPSINOGEN (Pepsi)

Explanation: This is a classic Wyna Liu move. Crush, Fanta, Fresca, and Pepsi are all popular soda brands. By attaching them to suffixes (like "worthy" or "gen"), the puzzle hides them in plain sight. Pepsinogen is a digestive enzyme, and Fantagraphics is a famous comic book publisher!

The NYT Connections Answer for April 18, 2026

If you're down to your last life and just need the solution, here it is:

• LOOK AT WITH AWE: GOGGLE, MARVEL, STARE, WONDER
• UNEXPECTED WINNER: DARK HORSE, LONG SHOT, SLEEPER, UNDERDOG
• BASIC ELECTRICITY TERMS: AC, DC, POWER, VOLTAGE
• STARTING WITH SODA BRANDS: CRUSHWORTHY, FANTAGRAPHICS, FRESCADE, PEPSINOGEN

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you play NYT Connections?

The goal is to find groups of four items that share something in common. Select four words and tap "Submit" to see if your guess is correct. You have four lives (mistakes) before the game ends.

What do the colors mean in Connections?

The game ranks categories by difficulty. Yellow is the most straightforward, Green and Blue are intermediate, and Purple is the most "tricky" or abstract category, often involving wordplay or puns.

When does the NYT Connections puzzle reset?

A new puzzle is released every day at midnight in your local time zone via the New York Times Games app and website.

Can there be more than one right answer?

Each puzzle has only one unique solution where every word fits into exactly one category. While some words might seem like they fit in two places, the final grid will only work one way!