NYT Connections July 20 2026 – Hints, Answers & Tips for Puzzle #1135

Hey there, puzzle lovers! If you’re staring at today’s New York Times Connections grid and feeling a little stuck, you’ve come to the right place. I’m Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a lifelong pop‑culture nerd and the editor who’s been chasing trivia since the ’80s, so I’ve got a few breadcrumbs to share.

First off, a quick reminder: Connections is split into four colour‑coded groups. The yellow set is usually the easiest, the purple one tends to be the sneakiest. On July 20, 2026 (that’s puzzle #1135), each group had its own quirky clue.

Yellow hint – “Announce.” Think about ways you can loudly proclaim something. The four answers turn out to be blare, herald, sound and trumpet. All of them double as verbs meaning “to announce” and, of course, as musical terms. Nice double‑duty.

Green hint – “One might be turned up.” This one trips people up because it’s talking about noses. Yep, noses. The solutions are button, Greek, ski‑jump and snub. Each of those is a type of nose – button‑nose, Greek nose, the nose on a ski‑jump (the ramp), and the classic snub nose.

Blue hint – “Fresh start.” The theme here is things we use metaphorically when talking about opportunities. You’ll find blank page, horizon, oyster and window. Open a blank page, look to the horizon, find a pearl in an oyster, or “window” into a new chance – all poetic ways to talk about a fresh beginning.

Purple hint – “Something you drink is hidden in each word.” This is the sneaky one, where a fermented beverage is tucked inside each answer. The four words are Alexa (ale), meadow (mead), portobello (port) and sakes (sake). Spot the drinks, and you’ve cracked the purple group.

If you’re still curious about how you fared, the NYT runs a little Connections Bot after you submit your grid. It gives you a numeric score, tells you if you nailed a perfect round, and even tracks your win streak. Handy if you’re a stats‑collector like me.

And hey, while you’re on a roll, the Times also offers daily hints for the Mini Crossword, Wordle, and Strands. Jump over to their Games section and keep the brain‑gym going.

That’s it for today’s Connections rundown. Grab a coffee (or maybe a glass of ale, if you’re feeling thematic) and enjoy the rest of your puzzle‑solving day!