NYT Connections Answer

Welcome back, puzzle lovers! If you’re here, you might be scratching your head over a few tricky word pairings in today's grid. Today’s NYT Connections felt like a classic Wyna Liu production—balancing some very approachable groups with a "Purple" category that requires you to read the words out loud.

Whether you're looking for a small NYT Connections hint to get you over the hump or the full answer for 2026-08-11, I’ve got you covered.

Let’s dive into the breakdown for today’s categories.

Hints for Today's Categories

If you don't want the full answers just yet, here are some nudges in the right direction:

• Yellow Group: When things have reached their inevitable, unfortunate end.
• Green Group: You’ll see these logos during a commercial break on television.
• Blue Group: "Do I hear five hundred? Five hundred? Going..."
• Purple Group: Listen closely to how these words sound when spoken aloud.

Yellow: DOOMED

These four words are all synonymous with being completely finished—and not in a good way. If your plans fall through or you've been caught red-handed, you might use any of these.

• DONE
• SUNK
• THROUGH
• TOAST

Why they fit: Each of these terms is a colloquial way to describe someone or something that is "finished" or has no chance of recovery. "I'm toast" and "I'm sunk" are interchangeable in a crisis!

Green: BASIC CABLE CHANNELS

This category is a bit of a throwback to the era of channel surfing. If you grew up with a standard cable package, these should jump out at you.

• BET (Black Entertainment Television)
• BRAVO
• HISTORY
• USA

Why they fit: These are all major American basic cable networks. While they've all rebranded slightly over the years (History dropped "The Channel" from its name, for instance), they remain staples of the TV guide.

Blue: WORDS IN AN AUCTIONEER'S CHANT

This category captures the rhythmic, fast-paced atmosphere of a live auction.

• GOING
• ONCE
• SOLD
• TWICE

Why they fit: An auctioneer traditionally says "Going once, going twice, sold!" to signal the end of bidding on an item. It's a classic sequence that most people can hear in their heads the moment they see the words together.

Purple: HOMOPHONES OF FACIAL FEATURES

This was the "Aha!" moment for today. If you look at these words and think they have nothing in common, try saying them to yourself.

• AYE (Eye)
• HARE (Hair)
• KNOWS (Nose)
• TUNG (Tongue)

Why they fit: This is a classic "sounds like" category. AYE sounds like Eye, HARE sounds like Hair, KNOWS sounds like Nose, and TUNG (referring to the Tung tree or oil) sounds like Tongue.

Final Thoughts for August 11, 2026

Today’s puzzle had a nice flow. The Auctioneer group (Blue) was a great distractor for BET (which people often do at auctions) and GOING (which can mean the same as "Done" or "Through"). Once you cleared the Cable Channels, the rest of the board fell into place quite nicely.

How did you do today? Did the homophones trip you up, or did you see "KNOWS" and "AYE" and immediately think of your face?

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you play NYT Connections?

In Connections, you are presented with a 4x4 grid of 16 words. Your goal is to group them into four sets of four that share a common theme. Categories range in difficulty from Yellow (easiest) to Green, Blue, and Purple (trickiest).

When does NYT Connections reset?

The puzzle resets daily at midnight in your local time zone.

Can there be more than one correct answer?

While some words may seem to fit into multiple categories, there is only one unique solution that organizes all 16 words into four distinct groups of four.

What happens if I make four mistakes?

If you exhaust your four "lives" or guesses, the game ends and the correct categories are revealed to you.