NYT Connections Answer

Welcome back, puzzle enthusiasts! If you’ve just opened your NYT Connections grid for April 22, 2026, and found yourself staring at a mix of nouns that seem to have nothing in common, you aren't alone. Today's puzzle, curated by Wyna Liu, is a delightful mix of craft terminology and some very clever linguistic traps.

Whether you are looking for a small NYT Connections hint to get you over the hump or the full answer for 2026-04-22, we’ve got you covered below.

What's the Vibe Today?

Today’s puzzle leans heavily on double meanings. One category focuses on synonyms for physical actions, while another requires you to change how you pronounce the words in your head. If you’re feeling a bit "hit" by the difficulty, take a deep breath—we’ll break it down group by group.

Yellow: Pottery Equipment

This group is the most straightforward of the bunch. If you’ve ever taken a ceramics class or watched The Great Pottery Throw Down, these terms should jump right out at you.

• CLAY: The raw material used to create ceramics.
• GLAZE: The liquid coating applied to pottery to give it color and a waterproof finish.
• KILN: The high-temperature oven used for firing the clay.
• WHEEL: The rotating device used by potters to "throw" or shape their work.

Category Name: POTTERY EQUIPMENT

Green: Ways to Wallop

The words in this group are all informal or slang terms for hitting someone or something quite hard. You might recognize them from old-school comic books or action movies.

• DECK: To knock someone to the floor with a punch.
• PUNCH: A standard blow with a fist.
• SLUG: A heavy, forceful hit.
• SOCK: To strike someone forcefully (as in "sock it to 'em").

Category Name: WALLOP

Blue: Fill in the Blank

This category uses the common "Pick-up" prefix. These can be tricky because the words are so diverse—ranging from vehicles to childhood games.

• ARTIST: A "Pick-up Artist" (someone who uses specific tactics to find romantic partners).
• GAME: A "Pick-up Game" (a casual, unplanned sports match).
• STICKS: "Pick-up Sticks" (the classic game where you remove sticks from a pile).
• TRUCK: A "Pick-up Truck" (the light-duty vehicle).

Category Name: PICK-UP ___

Purple: Linguistic Trickery

This is the "aha!" moment of the day. All of these words are pronounced one way when they are common nouns or adjectives, but when capitalized as proper nouns, the pronunciation changes entirely.

• HERB: The plant (usually "erb") vs. the name Herb (pronounced with an "H").
• NICE: Meaning pleasant vs. the city in France (Nice, pronounced "neese").
• POLISH: To shine something vs. the nationality (Polish, pronounced "po-lish").
• READING: The act of looking at text vs. the city in England or Pennsylvania (Reading, pronounced "red-ding").

Category Name: WORDS PRONOUNCED DIFFERENT WAYS AS PROPER NOUNS

Final Thoughts for 2026-04-22

Today's puzzle was a classic example of how Connections tries to hide words in plain sight. "Reading" and "Polish" are often used as verbs, making them easy to miss if you aren't thinking about geography. If you struggled with the Purple category, don't feel bad—proper noun heteronyms are one of the toughest tricks in the game!

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you play NYT Connections?

In Connections, you are presented with 16 words. Your goal is to organize them into four groups of four by finding a common thread between them. Each group is color-coded by difficulty: Yellow (easiest), Green, Blue, and Purple (hardest). You have four lives; one mistake costs one life.

When does the NYT Connections puzzle reset?

The puzzle resets daily at midnight local time. If you are using the app, make sure to refresh it to see the new grid for the day.

Can there be more than one way to group the words?

While some words might seem like they fit into multiple categories (this is intentional "red herring" design by the editor), there is only one unique solution where every word fits into exactly one group of four.

What are "Red Herrings" in Connections?

Red herrings are words designed to distract you. For example, today you might have seen "PUNCH" and "GLAZE" and thought about "Donuts," but they actually belonged to "Wallop" and "Pottery Equipment." Always look for the fourth word in a set before committing!