NYT Connections Answer

Good morning, puzzle lovers! If you’re tackling today’s NYT Connections hint and looking for the answer for 2026-04-23, you’ve come to the right place.

Today's grid, curated by Wyna Liu, felt like a classic "slow burn." There were some very tempting red herrings—especially with words that could belong to different genres of literature or geography. But once the planetary connection clicked, the rest of the pieces fell into place.

Let’s dive into the solution for today's puzzle.

Helpful Hints for Today's Puzzle

Before we reveal the groups, here are some nudges to help you solve it on your own:

1. Yellow Category: Think about synonyms for being adjacent to something or being on the edge.
2. Green Category: These are all descriptors you would see on a book jacket or in a library.
3. Blue Category: Remember that sentence you learned in elementary school to keep the planets in order?
4. Purple Category: Focus on the first four letters of each word. Do they sound like popular music groups from 40 years ago?

Connections Groups and Answers

Here are the groupings for today's puzzle:

Yellow: BORDER

These words all describe the act of being next to, surrounding, or acting as the edge of something.

• FLANK: To be situated on each side of.
• NEIGHBOR: To be next to or adjacent to.
• SKIRT: To go around the edge of something.
• TOUCH: To be in contact with or meet at a boundary.

Green: KINDS OF FICTION

Standard genres or classifications of storytelling.

• HISTORICAL: Fiction set in the past.
• LITERARY: Fiction that is regarded as having artistic merit.
• PULP: Fast-paced, often sensational fiction (originally named for the cheap paper it was printed on).
• SCIENCE: Speculative fiction involving futuristic concepts (Sci-Fi).

Blue: WORDS IN A PLANETARY MNEMONIC

These are the first four words of the most common mnemonic device used to remember the order of the planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars).

• MY (Mercury)
• VERY (Venus)
• EDUCATED (Earth)
• MOTHER (Mars)

Purple: STARTING WITH FOUR-LETTER '80S BANDS

This was the "stumper" today! Each of these words begins with the four-letter name of a famous band that rose to prominence in the 1980s.

• ASIAGO (ASIA + go)
• DEVOTE (DEVO + te)
• TOTORO (TOTO + ro)
• WHAMMY (WHAM + my)

Detailed Explanation for April 23, 2026

Today's puzzle had a few tricky overlaps. You might have tried to put MY and MOTHER into a "family" category, but there weren't enough supporting words.

The Green category (HISTORICAL, LITERARY, PULP, SCIENCE) was fairly stable, though "PULP" can sometimes be a tricky word for younger players. Pulp fiction refers to the gritty, inexpensive magazines of the early 20th century.

The real breakthrough for many will be the Blue category. "My Very Educated Mother..." is the classic way many of us learned the solar system. Even though Pluto is no longer a planet, the mnemonic (usually ending in "...Served Us Noodles") remains a staple of trivia.

Finally, the Purple category was a classic NYT "hidden word" trick. By isolating the first four letters, you get ASIA ("Heat of the Moment"), DEVO ("Whip It"), TOTO ("Africa"), and WHAM! ("Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go").

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you play NYT Connections?

The game presents a 4x4 grid of 16 words. Your goal is to group them into four sets of four based on a common theme. Each group is color-coded by difficulty: Yellow (easiest), Green, Blue, and Purple (hardest). You have four mistakes allowed before the game ends.

When does the NYT Connections 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 correct answer?

While some words may seem to fit into multiple categories (these are called red herrings), there is only one unique solution that organizes all 16 words into four distinct groups.

How did you do today? Did the '80s bands trip you up, or are you a classic rock expert? See you tomorrow for the next puzzle!