Connections July 26, 2026: Hints & Answers (#1219)
Recap
The connections for July 26, 2026, have been revealed. Four groups were identified: baby milestones, outdated consumer technology, expressions for rain, and concepts related to 'shell'.
The sixteen tiles
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. The recap above already named the groups, so this ladder is here for anyone replaying the board fresh rather than as a spoiler shield.
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Hint 1: Four one-line nudges, one per group
The softest hint there is.
- Yellow
- Early development
- Green
- Old tech
- Blue
- Weather phrases
- Purple
- The term 'shell'
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Hint 2: What linked each group, described
Still no titles and no tiles named.
Yellow group
These significant events mark a child's growth and progress
Green group
These outdated devices were once found in many homes and offices
Blue group
These phrases are used to describe rain in a creative or poetic way
Purple group
These concepts can all be referred to by the term 'shell' in different contexts
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Hint 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. 12 of the sixteen tiles were more than one word.
- Tiles
- 16 across 4 groups
- Longest tile
- 15 characters
- Shortest tile
- 7 characters
- Multi-word tiles
- 12
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Hint 4: The trap on this board
Which tiles pulled in two directions.
Some cards could fit into more than one group, be cautious with 'ROLLING OVER' and 'WET WEATHER'.
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Hint 5: The four category titles
Half the answer.
- Yellow
- BABY MILESTONES
- Green
- OUTMODED CONSUMER TECH
- Blue
- EXPRESSIONS FOR RAIN
- Purple
- WHAT "SHELL" MIGHT REFER TO
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Hint 6: One tile from each group
The anchor most people misplaced, matched to its title.
- Yellow — BABY MILESTONES
- SOLID FOOD
- Green — OUTMODED CONSUMER TECH
- PLASMA TV
- Blue — EXPRESSIONS FOR RAIN
- SCOTCH MIST
- Purple — WHAT "SHELL" MIGHT REFER TO
- GAS STATION
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
BABY MILESTONES
CRAWLING, FIRST WORDS, ROLLING OVER, SOLID FOOD. The yellow group, 'BABY MILESTONES', consists of 'CRAWLING', 'FIRST WORDS', 'ROLLING OVER', 'SOLID FOOD'.
Green group · 4 tiles
OUTMODED CONSUMER TECH
BLACKBERRY, DISCMAN, DVD PLAYER, PLASMA TV. The green group, 'OUTMODED CONSUMER TECH', consists of 'BLACKBERRY', 'DISCMAN', 'DVD PLAYER', 'PLASMA TV'.
Blue group · 4 tiles
EXPRESSIONS FOR RAIN
APRIL SHOWERS, LIQUID SUNSHINE, SCOTCH MIST, WET WEATHER. The blue group, 'EXPRESSIONS FOR RAIN', consists of 'APRIL SHOWERS', 'LIQUID SUNSHINE', 'SCOTCH MIST', 'WET WEATHER'.
Purple group · 4 tiles
WHAT "SHELL" MIGHT REFER TO
CARAPACE, GAS STATION, PASTRY CRUST, ROWING BOAT. The purple group, 'WHAT 'SHELL' MIGHT REFER TO', consists of 'CARAPACE', 'GAS STATION', 'PASTRY CRUST', 'ROWING BOAT'.
This board by the numbers
- Puzzle
- (#1219) · Sunday, July 26, 2026
- Tiles
- 16 in a 4 × 4 grid
- Groups
- 4, yellow to purple
- Multi-word tiles
- 12
- Longest tile
- LIQUID SUNSHINE
- Mistakes allowed
- 4 before the board locked
More Connections
See the live Connections hints and answers page for the current board, or browse every archived Connections date by month.
Try the other two puzzles
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The live NYT Strands hints, spangram and answers page
Six theme words plus the spangram, with a read-only board that traces each answer.
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The live NYT Pips hints and answers page
Easy, medium and hard boards with domino inventories and full walkthroughs.