Connections Today: Hints and Answers for #1239 — August 8
The hints below were assembled automatically from the board rather than written by an editor — accurate, just plainer than usual.
Sixteen tiles, four hidden groups of four, ordered yellow to purple. The hints start with a two-word nudge per group and only name a category five rungs later.
Today's board
The sixteen tiles as dealt. Reveal a group below to tint and caption its tiles here.
Connections hints, one rung at a time
Six rungs, softest first. This page remembers which ones you opened while this board is current.
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Hint 1: Four one-line nudges, one per group
The softest hint there is.
- Yellow
- Easiest set
- Green
- Second set
- Blue
- Third set
- Purple
- Trickiest set
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Hint 2: What links each group, described
No titles, no tiles named.
Yellow group
Auto-generated hint: this is the first of 4 sets by difficulty, and its 4 tiles share one link that is not spelled out here.
Green group
Auto-generated hint: this is the second of 4 sets by difficulty, and its 4 tiles share one link that is not spelled out here.
Blue group
Auto-generated hint: this is the third of 4 sets by difficulty, and its 4 tiles share one link that is not spelled out here.
Purple group
Auto-generated hint: this is the fourth of 4 sets by difficulty, and its 4 tiles share one link that is not spelled out here.
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Hint 3: Board facts
2 of the sixteen tiles are more than one word — often where a category hides.
- Tiles
- 16 across 4 groups
- Longest tile
- 9 characters
- Shortest tile
- 3 characters
- Multi-word tiles
- 2
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Hint 4: The trap on this board
No group is named.
Auto-generated hint: all 16 tiles are printed above and exactly 4 of them belong to each of the 4 sets. Several tiles read naturally in more than one of them, which is where most attempts go wrong. Settle the one you are most confident about first, then read the remaining tiles again before you commit to anything else.
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Hint 5: The four category titles
Half the answer; the groupings are still yours.
- Yellow
- QUAINT EXPRESSIONS OF EXCITEMENT
- Green
- CONVEY
- Blue
- WORDS ABBREVIATED WITH LETTERS AS HOMOPHONES
- Purple
- SAFETY ___
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Hint 6: One tile from each group
The anchor most people misplace.
- Yellow — QUAINT EXPRESSIONS OF EXCITEMENT
- HOT DOG
- Green — CONVEY
- EXPRESS
- Blue — WORDS ABBREVIATED WITH LETTERS AS HOMOPHONES
- I OWE YOU
- Purple — SAFETY ___
- GOGGLES
Today's Connections answers, group by group
Spoilers below. Opening a group tints and captions its four tiles on the board above.
Yellow group · 4 tiles
QUAINT EXPRESSIONS OF EXCITEMENT
HOT DOG, HURRAH, WHOOPEE, YAHOO. QUAINT EXPRESSIONS OF EXCITEMENT: HOT DOG, HURRAH, WHOOPEE, YAHOO.
Green group · 4 tiles
CONVEY
COUCH, EXPRESS, FRAME, PHRASE. CONVEY: COUCH, EXPRESS, FRAME, PHRASE.
Blue group · 4 tiles
WORDS ABBREVIATED WITH LETTERS AS HOMOPHONES
CUTIE, EASY, EFFECTS, I OWE YOU. WORDS ABBREVIATED WITH LETTERS AS HOMOPHONES: CUTIE, EASY, EFFECTS, I OWE YOU.
Purple group · 4 tiles
SAFETY ___
BELT, GOGGLES, PIN, RAZOR. SAFETY ___: BELT, GOGGLES, PIN, RAZOR.
This board by the numbers
edited by Wyna Liu.
- Puzzle
- #1239 · Saturday, August 8, 2026
- Tiles
- 16 in a 4 × 4 grid
- Groups
- 4, yellow to purple
- Multi-word tiles
- 2
- Longest tile
- I OWE YOU
- Mistakes allowed
- 4 before the board locks
The last board we archived
The newest archived page is Connections answers for #1238, Friday, August 7, 2026, created once its date stopped being current everywhere on Earth.
The other two puzzles today
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Today's NYT Strands hints, spangram and answers
Theme words, the spangram, and a board that traces each answer you reveal.
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Today's NYT Pips hints and answers
Easy, medium and hard boards with their rules and full walkthroughs.
How Connections works, in short
Submit four tiles you think belong together. Correct ones lock in; a wrong guess costs one of four lives, and "one away" means three were right. Solve by elimination: clear the group you are surest of, then re-read what is left. Our full Connections guide covers the traps.
NYT Connections questions we get asked
When does a new NYT Connections puzzle appear?
At midnight in your own time zone, not New York time. This page resolves your local date first.
What are the Connections categories for August 8?
In difficulty order: QUAINT EXPRESSIONS OF EXCITEMENT; CONVEY; WORDS ABBREVIATED WITH LETTERS AS HOMOPHONES; SAFETY ___. Yellow is the giveaway, purple the wordplay one.
Which tiles are the traps in Connections #1239?
Auto-generated hint: all 16 tiles are printed above and exactly 4 of them belong to each of the 4 sets. Several tiles read naturally in more than one of them, which is where most attempts go wrong. Settle the one you are most confident about first, then read the remaining tiles again before you commit to anything else.
How do I get a Connections hint without spoiling the grid?
Work down the ladder: a nudge per group, the link described, the board counted, the trap. Titles arrive at rung five, members at rung six.
What are all the Connections answers for August 8?
Yellow — QUAINT EXPRESSIONS OF EXCITEMENT: HOT DOG, HURRAH, WHOOPEE, YAHOO. Green — CONVEY: COUCH, EXPRESS, FRAME, PHRASE. Blue — WORDS ABBREVIATED WITH LETTERS AS HOMOPHONES: CUTIE, EASY, EFFECTS, I OWE YOU. Purple — SAFETY ___: BELT, GOGGLES, PIN, RAZOR.
Is TodayHint affiliated with The New York Times?
No — TodayHint is independent. Strands, Connections, Pips and NYT are trademarks of The New York Times Company.