NYT Connections Answer

Welcome to another day of NYT Connections! If you’re waking up on this Monday, July 13, 2026, and looking to kickstart your brain, you’ve come to the right place. Today’s puzzle, curated by Wyna Liu, offers a delightful mix of pop culture nostalgia and clever linguistic tricks.

Whether you're stuck on the final purple category or just need a little nudge to get started, here is the NYT Connections hint and the full answer for 2026-07-13.

What is Today’s NYT Connections Difficulty?

Today’s grid is a classic "bait and switch." You might see "TOM" and "PUMP" and think of shoes, or "GRILL" and "MUG" and think of BBQ/Kitchen items. However, once you separate the household objects from the personality-driven categories, the board starts to clear up quite nicely.

The Purple category today is particularly clever—it relies on identifying a hidden theme within the first half of each word.

Category Hints

If you don't want the full answers just yet, here are some clues for each group:

• Yellow (Easiest): These are all verbs that mean to ask someone questions, often intensely.
• Green: Think of everyday objects that you physically grasp or pull to use.
• Blue: This category is for the fans of animation and TV; these are all famous four-legged friends.
• Purple (Hardest): Look at the first few letters of these words. They all share a common "romantic" action.

Connections Answers for July 13, 2026

Ready for the reveal? Here are the winning groups for today's puzzle.

Yellow: INTERROGATE

• EXAMINE
• GRILL
• PUMP
• QUESTION

Explanation: These are all synonyms for the act of trying to get information out of someone. While "PUMP" (as in "to pump someone for information") is a bit more informal, it fits perfectly alongside "GRILL" and "EXAMINE."

Green: THINGS WITH HANDLES

• BUCKET
• DRAWER
• MUG
• UMBRELLA

Explanation: A very tactile category. If you look at these four items, their utility depends almost entirely on the handle attached to them.

Blue: FICTIONAL CATS

• FIGARO (Pinocchio)
• PUSS (Puss in Boots/Shrek)
• SALEM (Sabrina the Teenage Witch)
• TOM (Tom and Jerry)

Explanation: This was a fun trip down memory lane! Salem is the iconic talking black cat from Sabrina, and Figaro is the feisty kitten from Disney’s Pinocchio.

Purple: STARTING WITH SMOOCHES

• BUSSIN (Buss)
• KISSER (Kiss)
• PECKISH (Peck)
• SMACKDOWN (Smack)

Explanation: This is why we love Wyna Liu's puzzles! Each of these words begins with a synonym for a "kiss": a Buss, a Kiss, a Peck, and a Smack.

• Note: Bussin is a popular slang term meaning something is excellent (usually food), while Peckish means feeling slightly hungry.

How to Solve Tomorrow’s Puzzle?

If today was a struggle, remember to always look for multiple meanings of a word. "MUG" can be a cup, but it can also mean "to rob" or even "a face." Often, the NYT editors will put words that share a secondary meaning together to distract you from their actual category.

Check back tomorrow for more hints and the daily solution!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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 you're right. You have four lives; if you make four mistakes, the game ends and the answers are revealed.

When does the new NYT Connections puzzle come out?

New puzzles are released every day at midnight in your local time zone via the New York Times Games app and website.

What do the colors mean in Connections?

The colors represent the difficulty level:

• Yellow: Most straightforward.
• Green: Common knowledge/Straightforward.
• Blue: Intermediate difficulty, often involving pop culture or specific trivia.
• Purple: The trickiest category, usually involving wordplay, puns, or hidden themes.

Does the order of selection matter?

No. As long as you select the four correct words that belong to a category, you will get the point. The order in which you click them does not affect the outcome.