NYT Connections Hints, Answers & Clues -
NYT Connections #1147 Tip
Four luxury words are secretly wearing bread hats.
What Makes NYT Connections #1147 Tricky?
BORE, DRILL, REAM, and SHAM sit alongside WALTZ, PHOENIX, and LOAFER — a collision of workshop tools, dance moves, cities, and what might be insults, with ROLLS-ROYCE thrown in to make the whole grid feel unhinged.
The editor's deepest trick is hiding a common word inside the beginning of a longer word — so the category you need to see is not what these words mean, but what they start with.
Hard — one group is a clean solve once you know the trick, one requires genuine Oscar trivia, and the remaining two will fool most players at least once.
Connections Hints for Every Word in the August 1, 2026 Puzzle
WALTZ
Connections hint for WALTZ
A ballroom dance in three-four time — here it is the surname of Christoph Waltz, who won two Oscars for Best Supporting Actor.
LOAFER
Connections hint for LOAFER
A slip-on shoe — but look at the first four letters: LOAF, a bread shape, starts this word.
SHAM
Connections hint for SHAM
A pillowcase designed to cover a pillow decoratively on a made bed — not a fake or fraud here.
BORE
Connections hint for BORE
To drill or enlarge a hole using a boring tool — a genuine hole-machining operation, not a tedious person.
REAM
Connections hint for REAM
To enlarge or finish a hole using a reamer tool — a standard machining operation, not a stack of paper.
BOULEVARD
Connections hint for BOULEVARD
A wide tree-lined road — but look at the first four letters: BOUL, wait — it starts with BUN, no — it starts with BOUL... actually the bread shape here is BOUL as in BOULE, a French bread. Check the opening letters carefully.
SHEET
Connections hint for SHEET
A flat piece of fabric that goes directly on a mattress — the most basic layer of bedding.
BALE
Connections hint for BALE
Christian Bale, who won Best Actor at the 2011 Oscars for The Fighter — not a bundle of hay in this puzzle.
THROW
Connections hint for THROW
A small decorative blanket draped over a sofa or bed — lighter than a comforter, used for accent or warmth.
BUNDLE
Connections hint for BUNDLE
A collection of things tied together — but it starts with BUN, a bread shape, making it part of the hidden-bread group.
JORDAN
Connections hint for JORDAN
Michael B. Jordan did not win an Oscar — this is likely referring to a different Jordan. Check the Oscar record carefully.
ROLLS-ROYCE
Connections hint for ROLLS-ROYCE
The luxury British car brand — but it starts with ROLLS, a bread shape (dinner rolls), which is what the puzzle cares about.
PHOENIX
Connections hint for PHOENIX
Joaquin Phoenix, who won Best Actor at the 2020 Oscars for Joker — not the Arizona city here.
DRILL
Connections hint for DRILL
To cut a hole using a rotating drill bit — the most familiar hole-machining operation.
COMFORTER
Connections hint for COMFORTER
A thick quilted bed covering filled with down or synthetic material — the warmest layer of bedding.
COUNTERSINK
Connections hint for COUNTERSINK
To cut a conical recess at the top of a hole so a screw head sits flush — a specific hole-machining operation.
Traps & Misdirects Hints for NYT Connections Puzzle (#1147)
BORE means to drill a hole, DRILL is drilling, and REAM is reaming — all three are genuine hole-machining operations and they belong together with a fourth word. The trap is assuming you have found all four when you have only found three; the fourth machining word is hiding behind a meaning you would never expect.
SHAM means a fake or fraud, BORE means a tedious person, and THROW is something you toss — all three feel like plain English words with nothing special about them. That ordinary-word reading is the wrong track for at least one of these. Each of these three belongs to a different group.
PHOENIX is a city in Arizona and JORDAN is a country — grouping them as places feels natural, especially since both are also proper nouns. Neither is being used as a place here. Both are surnames of Oscar-winning actors, and the puzzle is using that sense entirely.
LOAFER is a type of shoe and ROLLS-ROYCE is a luxury car — pairing them as high-end lifestyle items feels plausible. That lifestyle reading is a dead end. What matters here is the first few letters of each word, not what the word means.
Connections Hints for August 1, 2026
Yellow Connections Hints
Yellow Category Hint
Things you find layered on a bed
Think: Think: making the bed, linen closet
Yellow Category Name
BEDDING
Yellow Category Words
Reveal word 1
COMFORTERReveal word 2
SHAMReveal word 3
SHEETReveal word 4
THROWGreen Connections Hints
Green Category Hint
Surnames of men who took home Best Actor or Supporting Actor after 2010
Think: Think: Academy Awards, recent winners
Green Category Name
OSCAR-WINNING ACTORS SINCE 2010
Green Category Words
Reveal word 1
BALEReveal word 2
JORDANReveal word 3
PHOENIXReveal word 4
WALTZBlue Connections Hints
Blue Category Hint
Verbs for cutting, enlarging, or shaping holes in material
Think: Think: machine shop, metalworking
Blue Category Name
PERFORM SOME HOLE MACHINING OPERATIONS
Blue Category Words
Reveal word 1
BOREReveal word 2
COUNTERSINKReveal word 3
DRILLReveal word 4
REAMPurple Connections Hints
Purple Category Hint
Longer words whose opening letters spell a bread shape
Think: Think: hidden word, first syllable
Purple Category Name
STARTING WITH BREAD SHAPES
Purple Category Words
Reveal word 1
BOULEVARDReveal word 2
BUNDLEReveal word 3
LOAFERReveal word 4
ROLLS-ROYCENYT Connections Answers for August 1, 2026
NYT Connections Answers Explained: August 1, 2026
BEDDING
COMFORTER, SHAM, SHEET, and THROW are all items you find on or around a bed — each is a distinct layer or covering with its own specific role.
- COMFORTER
- A thick quilted blanket filled with down or synthetic fibre — the warmest and puffiest layer on a bed.
- SHAM
- A decorative pillowcase designed to cover a pillow for display on a made bed — not a fake or fraud, which is the obvious trap.
- SHEET
- The flat or fitted fabric layer placed directly on the mattress — the most fundamental piece of bedding.
- THROW
- A small lightweight blanket draped over a bed or sofa for decoration or a little extra warmth — smaller than a comforter.
OSCAR-WINNING ACTORS SINCE 2010
BALE, JORDAN, PHOENIX, and WALTZ are all surnames of actors who won an Academy Award for acting from 2010 onward — each name doubles as something else, which is the misdirect.
- BALE
- Christian Bale won Best Supporting Actor at the 2011 ceremony for The Fighter — BALE also means a large bundle of hay, which is the decoy.
- JORDAN
- Michael B. Jordan has not won an Oscar as of this puzzle's date — this likely refers to a different Jordan. Flagged for uncertainty: the specific Oscar-winning Jordan here needs verification.
- PHOENIX
- Joaquin Phoenix won Best Actor at the 2020 ceremony for Joker — PHOENIX is also the capital of Arizona, which is the decoy.
- WALTZ
- Christoph Waltz won Best Supporting Actor twice — at the 2010 ceremony for Inglourious Basterds and the 2013 ceremony for Django Unchained — WALTZ also names the ballroom dance.
PERFORM SOME HOLE MACHINING OPERATIONS
BORE, COUNTERSINK, DRILL, and REAM are all verbs for specific operations used to create or finish holes in metal, wood, or other materials.
- BORE
- To bore a hole means to enlarge or cut it using a boring bar or tool — more precise than drilling, and the word's more common meaning (a tedious person) is the trap.
- COUNTERSINK
- To countersink means to cut a cone-shaped recess at the mouth of a hole so that a screw or bolt head sits flush with the surface — the most technical-sounding word in the group.
- DRILL
- To drill means to cut a hole using a rotating drill bit — the most everyday word for hole-making and the one players are least likely to question.
- REAM
- To ream means to enlarge or smooth a hole to a precise diameter using a reamer — a finishing operation done after drilling, and REAM also means 500 sheets of paper, which is the decoy.
STARTING WITH BREAD SHAPES
BOULEVARD, BUNDLE, LOAFER, and ROLLS-ROYCE each begin with the name of a bread shape — BOULE, BUN, LOAF, and ROLLS — hidden inside a longer word or compound that means something completely different.
- BOULEVARD
- Starts with BOULE — a round rustic French bread loaf — the word BOULEVARD begins B-O-U-L, matching BOULE before continuing into a word meaning a wide road.
- BUNDLE
- Starts with BUN — a small round bread roll — BUNDLE begins B-U-N before continuing into a word meaning a tied-up collection of things.
- LOAFER
- Starts with LOAF — the standard rectangular bread shape — LOAFER begins L-O-A-F before continuing into a word meaning a slip-on shoe or a lazy person.
- ROLLS-ROYCE
- Starts with ROLLS — as in bread rolls, small individual round breads — the luxury car brand ROLLS-ROYCE begins with the plural bread word before the hyphen.
