TodayHint

Connections July 27, 2026: Hints & Answers (#1220)

edited by Wyna Liu.

Recap

The groups were well-distributed in difficulty, with athletic equipment and website icons being relatively straightforward, while shifts and tapered things required a bit more thought.

The sixteen tiles

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

CARTHORSECARROTSTICKKNITTING NEEDLEMAGNIFYING GLASSBEAMGRAVEYARDBELLICICLERINGSHEARTPARADIGMSTALACTITEDOPPLERVAULT

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
    Athletic equipment
    Green
    Pointed objects
    Blue
    Work changes
    Purple
    Website symbols
  2. What linked each group, described

    Still no titles and no tiles named.

    Yellow group

    Apparatus used in a specific sport requiring balance and strength

    Green group

    Elongated objects that taper to a point, often found in nature or used for crafting

    Blue group

    Terms used to describe different types of work schedules or rotations

    Purple group

    Common icons you might find on an e-commerce platform, used for navigation or feedback

  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. 2 of the sixteen tiles were more than one word.

    Tiles
    16 across 4 groups
    Longest tile
    16 characters
    Shortest tile
    4 characters
    Multi-word tiles
    2
    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, be cautious with BELL, CART, and HEART as they appear in various contexts.

  5. The four category titles

    Half the answer.

    Yellow
    GYMNASTICS APPARATUS
    Green
    LONG TAPERED THINGS
    Blue
    KINDS OF SHIFTS
    Purple
    ICONS ON A SHOPPING SITE
  6. One tile from each group

    The anchor most people misplaced, matched to its title.

    Yellow — GYMNASTICS APPARATUS
    RINGS
    Green — LONG TAPERED THINGS
    STALACTITE
    Blue — KINDS OF SHIFTS
    PARADIGM
    Purple — ICONS ON A SHOPPING SITE
    MAGNIFYING GLASS
    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

    GYMNASTICS APPARATUS

    BEAM, HORSE, RINGS, VAULT. The yellow group consists of 'GYMNASTICS APPARATUS' with cards BEAM, HORSE, RINGS, VAULT.

  • Green group · 4 tiles

    LONG TAPERED THINGS

    CARROT, ICICLE, KNITTING NEEDLE, STALACTITE. The green group consists of 'LONG TAPERED THINGS' with cards CARROT, ICICLE, KNITTING NEEDLE, STALACTITE.

  • Blue group · 4 tiles

    KINDS OF SHIFTS

    DOPPLER, GRAVEYARD, PARADIGM, STICK. The blue group consists of 'KINDS OF SHIFTS' with cards DOPPLER, GRAVEYARD, PARADIGM, STICK.

  • Purple group · 4 tiles

    ICONS ON A SHOPPING SITE

    BELL, CART, HEART, MAGNIFYING GLASS. The purple group consists of 'ICONS ON A SHOPPING SITE' with cards BELL, CART, HEART, MAGNIFYING GLASS.

This board by the numbers

Puzzle
(#1220) · Monday, July 27, 2026
Tiles
16 in a 4 × 4 grid
Groups
4, yellow to purple
Multi-word tiles
2
Longest tile
MAGNIFYING GLASS
Mistakes allowed
4 before the board locked

More Connections

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