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Connections August 11, 2026: Hints & Answers (#1242)

edited by Wyna Liu.

Recap

The puzzle required grouping 16 words into four categories based on their meanings and connections. Solvers had to carefully consider the relationships between the words to place them correctly in their respective groups.

The sixteen tiles

The sixteen tiles as dealt. Reveal a group below to tint and caption its tiles here.

TOASTAYEBRAVOSOLDBETDONEHISTORYKNOWSHAREGOINGTHROUGHTWICEONCESUNKTUNGUSA

Connections hints, one rung at a time

Six rungs, softest first. The recap above already named the groups, so this ladder is here for anyone replaying the board fresh rather than as a spoiler shield.

  1. Four one-line nudges, one per group

    The softest hint there is.

    Yellow
    Failed plans
    Green
    TV networks
    Blue
    Auction terms
    Purple
    Sound alike
  2. What linked each group, described

    Still no titles and no tiles named.

    Yellow group

    These words describe things that have not gone as intended or are no longer viable.

    Green group

    These channels are often associated with reality TV, documentaries, and news programming.

    Blue group

    These phrases are commonly used by auctioneers to facilitate the bidding process.

    Purple group

    These words are pronounced similarly to parts of the human face.

  3. Board facts

    Counted off the sixteen printed tiles.

    Sixteen tiles, four groups of four, ordered yellow → green → blue → purple from most to least obvious. Every tile was a single word.

    Tiles
    16 across 4 groups
    Longest tile
    7 characters
    Shortest tile
    3 characters
    Multi-word tiles
    0
    Back to the sixteen tiles
  4. The trap on this board

    Which tiles pulled in two directions.

    Some cards could fit into multiple categories at first glance, particularly those with multiple meanings or uses. Be cautious with words that have more than one common usage.

  5. The four category titles

    Half the answer.

    Yellow
    DOOMED
    Green
    BASIC CABLE CHANNELS
    Blue
    WORDS IN AN AUCTIONEER'S CHANT
    Purple
    HOMOPHONES OF FACIAL FEATURES
  6. One tile from each group

    The anchor most people misplaced, matched to its title.

    Yellow — DOOMED
    THROUGH
    Green — BASIC CABLE CHANNELS
    HISTORY
    Blue — WORDS IN AN AUCTIONEER'S CHANT
    TWICE
    Purple — HOMOPHONES OF FACIAL FEATURES
    TUNG
    Open the full groupings

Every Connections group from that board

All four groups, folded. Opening one tints its four tiles above and captions them with the category name.

  • Yellow group · 4 tiles

    DOOMED

    DONE, SUNK, THROUGH, TOAST. The yellow group, 'DOOMED', consists of the words 'DONE', 'SUNK', 'THROUGH', and 'TOAST', all describing things that have failed or are no longer viable.

  • Green group · 4 tiles

    BASIC CABLE CHANNELS

    BET, BRAVO, HISTORY, USA. The green group, 'BASIC CABLE CHANNELS', includes 'BET', 'BRAVO', 'HISTORY', and 'USA', which are all well-known cable television networks.

  • Blue group · 4 tiles

    WORDS IN AN AUCTIONEER'S CHANT

    GOING, ONCE, SOLD, TWICE. The blue group, 'WORDS IN AN AUCTIONEER'S CHANT', comprises 'GOING', 'ONCE', 'SOLD', and 'TWICE', which are terms commonly used during auctions.

  • Purple group · 4 tiles

    HOMOPHONES OF FACIAL FEATURES

    AYE, HARE, KNOWS, TUNG. The purple group, 'HOMOPHONES OF FACIAL FEATURES', features 'AYE', 'HARE', 'KNOWS', and 'TUNG', which are homophones of words related to facial features.

This board by the numbers

Puzzle
(#1242) · Tuesday, August 11, 2026
Tiles
16 in a 4 × 4 grid
Groups
4, yellow to purple
Multi-word tiles
0
Longest tile
THROUGH
Mistakes allowed
4 before the board locked

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