NYT Connections hints and answers for Saturday, July 18 (game #1133)

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 Friday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Friday, July 17 (game #1132).

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 #1133) - today's words

Today's NYT Connections words are…

TRAVEL

FLY

QUIZ

SCORE

OPINION

CARRY

HEALTH

TART

CULTURE

MIND

TIME

GOALTEND

VIEW

LIVES

DOUBLE DRIBBLE

ATTITUDE

NYT Connections today (game #1133) - hint #1 - group hints

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

YELLOW: NBA fouls

GREEN: Your convictions

BLUE: Arcade scoring systems

PURPLE: Begin with a musical sound

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 #1133) - hint #2 - group answers

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

YELLOW: COMMIT A BASKETBALL VIOLATION

GREEN: BELIEF

BLUE: THINGS TRACKED IN VIDEO GAMES

PURPLE: WORDS AFTER "POP"

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

NYT Connections today (game #1133) - the answers

The answers to today's Connections, game #1133, are…

YELLOW: COMMIT A BASKETBALL VIOLATION: CARRY, DOUBLE DRIBBLE, GOALTEND, TRAVEL

GREEN: BELIEF: ATTITUDE, MIND, OPINION, VIEW

BLUE: THINGS TRACKED IN VIDEO GAMES: HEALTH, LIVES, SCORE, TIME

PURPLE: WORDS AFTER "POP": CULTURE, FLY, QUIZ, TART

My rating: Hard

My score: 1 mistake

I made my mistake after successfully threading ATTITUDE, MIND, OPINION and VIEW, although I was thinking about components of a debate rather than a BELIEF.

My error was, of course, confusion over basketball terminology. DOUBLE DRIBBLE and GOALTEND I knew, but instead of TRAVEL I selected SCORE. Which, on reflection, makes no sense.

Meanwhile my confidence over WORDS AFTER “POP” was fragile, but I successfully guessed FLY instead of SCORE. Before googling I thought it was an alternative to a zip fly. I now know it’s a baseball term.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Friday, July 17, 2026, game #1132)

YELLOW: GRAND FINALE: EPILOGUE, FAREWELL, LAST DANCE, SWAN SONG

GREEN: SEEN IN AN ARCADE: CRANE GAME, PINBALL, TICKETS, TOKENS

BLUE: FOUR GROUPS OF FOUR: CARDINAL DIRECTIONS, CLASSICAL ELEMENTS, SEASONS, SUITS

PURPLE: ENDING IN PARTS OF A CAR: PLOT SPOILER, ROBIN HOOD, SATIRES, TREE TRUNK

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.