NYT Connections hints and answers for Wednesday, July 15 (game #1130)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Tuesday, July 14 (game #1129).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #1130) - today's words

Today's NYT Connections words are…

RACKET

FOOTBALL

WIGGLE

BAR

HEAD

BENCH

ELBOW

SHOE

EXTREME

BREATHING

MOTOR

COURT

CORSET

WATER

TRIBUNAL

BASEBALL

GLOVE

NYT Connections today (game #1130) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

YELLOW: Tell it to the judge

GREEN: All need to be tied

BLUE: Types of competitive activity

PURPLE: Add a word that rhymes with “boom”

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

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NYT Connections today (game #1130) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

YELLOW: TERMS FOR THE LEGAL SYSTEM

GREEN: THINGS WITH LACES

BLUE: KINDS OF SPORTS

PURPLE: WORDS BEFORE "ROOM" TO INDICATE EXTRA SPACE

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #1130) - the answers

The answers to today's Connections, game #1130, are…

YELLOW: TERMS FOR THE LEGAL SYSTEM: BAR, BENCH, COURT, TRIBUNAL

GREEN: THINGS WITH LACES: BASEBALL GLOVE, CORSET, FOOTBALL, SHOE

BLUE: KINDS OF SPORTS: EXTREME, MOTOR, RACKET, WATER

PURPLE: WORDS BEFORE "ROOM" TO INDICATE EXTRA SPACE: BREATHING, ELBOW, HEAD, WIGGLE

My rating: Hard

My score: Perfect

Despite not making any mistakes I am classifying this game as tricky, because I came close to an error in collecting four unrelated sporting things.

THINGS WITH LACES also favors anyone familiar with FOOTBALL, as my mind went to soccer balls — which haven’t had laces since the 1960s.

I also got lucky in spotting the purple group after thinking all of the things that WIGGLE could be connected to and saying “wiggle room” to myself. I hate the idea of being in tight, crowded spots, so wiggle room is always on my mind.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Tuesday, July 14, 2026, game #1129)

YELLOW: CONTRACT: AGREEMENT, BARGAIN, DEAL, UNDERSTANDING

GREEN: EDIT MENU OPTIONS: COPY, CUT, DELETE, PASTE

BLUE: KINDS OF BASKETS: EASTER, GROCERY, LAUNDRY, PICNIC

PURPLE: SYMBOLIZED WITH ARROWS: RECYCLING, SHUFFLE, THIS SIDE UP, U-TURN

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

Johnny is a freelance pop culture journalist who has been writing about the internet, music, football and famous people since the iPhone was just a twinkle in Steve Jobs' eye. Previously known by the pseudonym the Pop Detective, his journalistic career began making up stories about Madonna's addiction to sausage rolls (this is not true by the way). A man of few talents, his career is rich and various and includes the highs of interviewing Elton John and Blur; and the lows of interviewing Right Said Fred, appearing on a Channel 5 documentary about Peter Kay, and fact-checking the instruction manual for a German cooker. Somehow still affording to live in North London he is at his happiest riding his bicycle and shouting at pigeons.