NYT Connections Hints, Answers & Clues -
NYT Connections #1128 Tip
Several words here are secretly the start of something else.
What Makes NYT Connections #1128 Tricky?
GRILL, MUG, PUSS, and PUMP sit in this grid looking like they belong to completely different worlds — cooking equipment, a face, a cat, a shoe — yet none of them are doing what they appear to be doing.
The editor's main trick is a hidden-prefix category: four words that look like ordinary vocabulary each secretly begin with a word meaning kiss, and you would never spot it unless you stop reading the whole word and start reading the start of it.
Monday puzzles usually run easy, but this one has real bite — one group is immediately obvious, one clicks once you spot the gimmick, and the remaining two require you to distrust your first instinct about almost every word on the board.
Connections Hints for Every Word in the July 13, 2026 Puzzle
UMBRELLA
Connections hint for UMBRELLA
A rain shield with a curved handle — the handle is the key detail here, not the weather protection.
SALEM
Connections hint for SALEM
The black cat from Sabrina the Teenage Witch — a fictional feline, not the Massachusetts city.
BUCKET
Connections hint for BUCKET
A pail with a looped handle on top — the handle is what matters in this puzzle, not what you fill it with.
QUESTION
Connections hint for QUESTION
To question someone means to interrogate them formally — the verb sense, not the punctuation mark.
PUSS
Connections hint for PUSS
Looks like a word for cat, but look at the first three letters — PUSS starts with a word meaning kiss, and that is what this puzzle is using.
GRILL
Connections hint for GRILL
To grill someone means to interrogate them intensely — not the cooking equipment here.
PUMP
Connections hint for PUMP
To pump someone for information means to interrogate them persistently — not the shoe or the water device.
KISSER
Connections hint for KISSER
Slang for mouth or face, yes — but here it starts with KISS, a type of smooch, and that prefix is the point.
MUG
Connections hint for MUG
Slang for face, and also means to attack someone — but in this puzzle it means to interrogate, as in to grill or question someone.
FIGARO
Connections hint for FIGARO
The kitten from Disney's Pinocchio — a fictional cat, not the opera barber.
SMACKDOWN
Connections hint for SMACKDOWN
Starts with SMACK, which is a word for a kiss or a sharp blow — the prefix is doing the work here, not the wrestling event.
DRAWER
Connections hint for DRAWER
A sliding compartment in a desk or cabinet — it has a handle you pull, which is the connection.
EXAMINE
Connections hint for EXAMINE
To examine someone means to question them closely and formally — the interrogation sense, not the medical checkup.
BUSSIN
Connections hint for BUSSIN
Slang meaning excellent or delicious — but it starts with BUS, wait, no: it starts with BUSS, an old-fashioned word for a kiss, and that prefix is the puzzle's angle.
TOM
Connections hint for TOM
Tom Cat from the Tom and Jerry cartoons — a fictional cat whose name is also a common noun for a male cat.
PECKISH
Connections hint for PECKISH
Usually means slightly hungry — but here it starts with PECK, a light quick kiss, and that opening word is what puts it in the purple group.
Traps & Misdirects Hints for NYT Connections Puzzle (#1128)
MUG means to attack and rob someone, GRILL means to interrogate harshly, PUMP means to extract information, and EXAMINE means to question closely — all four feel like synonyms for interrogating. That cluster is almost right but not quite. One of these four belongs to a completely different group, so locking all four in together will cost you a mistake.
PUSS is slang for face, MUG is slang for face, and KISSER is slang for mouth or face — grouping them as face-words feels very natural. That reading is a dead end for this puzzle. Each of these words is being used in a completely different sense here.
PUSS is an obvious word for cat, and there are cats in this puzzle, so it feels like a safe pick for that group. It is not safe. PUSS here is being read differently — look at the first few letters rather than the whole word.
TOM is a male cat, FIGARO is a cat from Pinocchio, and SALEM is the cat from Sabrina the Teenage Witch — three famous fictional cats in one grid feels like the group is almost complete. The trap is assuming which fourth word joins them, because one obvious candidate belongs elsewhere entirely.
Connections Hints for July 13, 2026
Yellow Connections Hints
Yellow Category Hint
Verbs that all mean to formally or forcefully interrogate someone
Think: Think: police interview, hard questions
Yellow Category Name
INTERROGATE
Yellow Category Words
Reveal word 1
EXAMINEReveal word 2
GRILLReveal word 3
PUMPReveal word 4
QUESTIONGreen Connections Hints
Green Category Hint
Everyday objects you grip or carry by a handle
Think: Think: what do you grab hold of?
Green Category Name
THINGS WITH HANDLES
Green Category Words
Reveal word 1
BUCKETReveal word 2
DRAWERReveal word 3
MUGReveal word 4
UMBRELLABlue Connections Hints
Blue Category Hint
Famous cats from cartoons, film, and television
Think: Think: animated and on-screen felines
Blue Category Name
FICTIONAL CATS
Blue Category Words
Reveal word 1
FIGAROReveal word 2
PUSSReveal word 3
SALEMReveal word 4
TOMPurple Connections Hints
Purple Category Hint
Words that each open with a different term for a kiss
Think: Think: hidden smooches at the front
Purple Category Name
STARTING WITH SMOOCHES
Purple Category Words
Reveal word 1
BUSSINReveal word 2
KISSERReveal word 3
PECKISHReveal word 4
SMACKDOWNNYT Connections Answers for July 13, 2026
NYT Connections Answers Explained: July 13, 2026
INTERROGATE
EXAMINE, GRILL, PUMP, and QUESTION all mean to interrogate someone — to question them persistently or formally in order to extract information.
- EXAMINE
- To examine a witness or suspect means to question them formally and thoroughly — a legal and investigative term for interrogation.
- GRILL
- To grill someone means to interrogate them intensely and relentlessly — the heat metaphor comes from the cooking sense but the meaning here is pure questioning.
- PUMP
- To pump someone for information means to keep questioning them persistently until they reveal what you want to know.
- QUESTION
- To question someone is the most direct synonym for interrogate — to put them through a formal or pressing line of inquiry.
THINGS WITH HANDLES
BUCKET, DRAWER, MUG, and UMBRELLA are all everyday objects that have a handle — the physical grip or loop you use to carry, open, or hold them.
- BUCKET
- A bucket has a looped handle arching over the top so you can carry it — the handle is its most functional feature.
- DRAWER
- A drawer has a handle on its front face that you pull to slide it open — without the handle it would be very hard to grip.
- MUG
- A mug has a fixed loop handle on the side so you can hold a hot drink without burning your hand — the handle is what distinguishes a mug from a cup in many definitions.
- UMBRELLA
- An umbrella has a curved or straight handle at the bottom that you grip to hold it up — the classic hooked handle is one of its most recognisable features.
FICTIONAL CATS
FIGARO, PUSS, SALEM, and TOM are all famous fictional cats from animation, film, and television — each one a well-known character whose identity is defined by being a cat.
- FIGARO
- Figaro is the small black and white kitten who belongs to Geppetto in Disney's 1940 animated film Pinocchio — one of Disney's earliest and most recognisable animal characters.
- PUSS
- Puss in Boots is the swashbuckling cat from the Shrek franchise and his own spin-off films — voiced by Antonio Banderas, he is one of the most famous fictional cats in recent cinema.
- SALEM
- Salem Saberhagen is the wisecracking black cat in the television series Sabrina the Teenage Witch — a warlock transformed into a cat as punishment, making him one of the most memorable fictional cats on screen.
- TOM
- Tom is the grey house cat in the classic animated series Tom and Jerry — the perpetual pursuer of Jerry the mouse, and one of the most iconic cartoon animals ever created.
STARTING WITH SMOOCHES
BUSSIN, KISSER, PECKISH, and SMACKDOWN each begin with a word that means a kiss — BUSS, KISS, PECK, and SMACK — with extra letters following that turn them into completely different words.
- BUSSIN
- BUSSIN starts with BUSS, an old-fashioned or literary word for a kiss — the rest of the word (-IN) turns it into modern slang meaning something is excellent or delicious, hiding the smooch completely.
- KISSER
- KISSER starts with KISS, the most common word for a smooch — the -ER suffix turns it into slang for a person's mouth or face, so the kiss is right there at the front but the word means something else entirely.
- PECKISH
- PECKISH starts with PECK, a light quick kiss — the -ISH suffix turns it into an adjective meaning slightly hungry, which has nothing to do with kissing and everything to do with hiding one.
- SMACKDOWN
- SMACKDOWN starts with SMACK, which can mean a sharp kiss as well as a blow — the -DOWN suffix turns it into a word for a decisive defeat or the name of a wrestling event, burying the kiss at the front.
