NYT Connections Hints, Answers & Clues -
NYT Connections #1135 Tip
One category hides inside the first syllable of every word.
What Makes NYT Connections #1135 Tricky?
TRUMPET, HERALD, OYSTER, MEADOW, BUBBLE TEA, and ALEXA share a grid with BUTTON, ICON, and WISDOM — a collision of tech vocabulary, nature words, fanfare terms, and things that feel vaguely thematic but resist obvious grouping.
The editor's sharpest trick is hiding a category inside the opening syllables of four words — the words look completely normal on the surface, and nothing flags them as containers for something else.
Harder than a Monday usually feels — one group is genuinely satisfying once it clicks, but the hidden-prefix category will stump most players until they hear the penny drop.
Connections Hints for Every Word in the July 20, 2026 Puzzle
OYSTER
Connections hint for OYSTER
The shellfish that produces pearls — its pearl connection is real and intentional here.
MEADOW
Connections hint for MEADOW
A grassy field — but the first three letters contain a common alcoholic drink, and that is what matters in this puzzle.
WISDOM
Connections hint for WISDOM
As in wisdom teeth, or hard-won knowledge — here it connects to a famous phrase about pearls of wisdom.
SOUND
Connections hint for SOUND
Usually means noise, or healthy (sound advice) — here it means to publicly announce or proclaim something.
BUTTON
Connections hint for BUTTON
On a shirt or a machine — in this puzzle it is specifically the clickable kind you find on a screen.
BUBBLE TEA
Connections hint for BUBBLE TEA
The Taiwanese drink with tapioca pearls at the bottom — those chewy balls are literally called pearls.
PORTOBELLO
Connections hint for PORTOBELLO
A large flat mushroom — but the first four letters spell a well-known alcoholic drink, which is the puzzle's angle.
MENU
Connections hint for MENU
A restaurant list or a dropdown on a screen — in this puzzle it is the digital navigation kind you click.
TRUMPET
Connections hint for TRUMPET
The brass instrument — and also a verb meaning to loudly announce or proclaim something, which is how it is used here.
ICON
Connections hint for ICON
A small image on a screen that you tap or click to open something — its digital interface meaning is what counts here.
HERALD
Connections hint for HERALD
To herald something is to announce it publicly, often with fanfare — the verb sense is what this puzzle uses.
SWINE
Connections hint for SWINE
Pigs — and the source of the phrase casting pearls before swine, meaning offering something valuable to those who will not appreciate it.
SAKES
Connections hint for SAKES
As in for goodness' sakes — but the first four letters spell a Japanese rice wine, and that hidden drink is the puzzle's point.
BLARE
Connections hint for BLARE
To blare is to make a loud harsh sound — and by extension to broadcast or announce something loudly and unavoidably.
LINK
Connections hint for LINK
A clickable hyperlink on a webpage — one of the four standard things you interact with in a digital interface.
ALEXA
Connections hint for ALEXA
Amazon's voice assistant — but the first three letters spell a type of beer, and that hidden drink prefix is what puts it in the hardest category.
Traps & Misdirects Hints for NYT Connections Puzzle (#1135)
TRUMPET is a brass instrument, HERALD is a medieval announcer, and SOUND is what both of them make — grouping these three as music or announcement words feels completely natural. That reading is a trap for at least one of them. Each word has a claim on a different category, so do not lock all three together before you have checked every angle.
OYSTER produces pearls, BUBBLE TEA contains pearl-sized tapioca balls, and SWINE connects to the phrase casting pearls before swine — all three have a genuine pearl association. The trap is assuming a fourth word completes this group when one of these three might actually belong elsewhere, or when the fourth member is a word you have not yet connected to pearls at all.
These four words look like they have nothing in common — a field, a mushroom, a smart speaker, and a plural noun. The surface meaning of each one is a complete dead end. Strip the first few letters off each word and listen for what is hiding at the front.
BUTTON is something you press on a shirt or a machine, and MENU is a list of food options — the physical, non-digital meanings of both words feel equally valid. In this puzzle both words are being used in their digital interface sense, so resist the urge to chase the clothing or restaurant angle.
Connections Hints for July 20, 2026
Yellow Connections Hints
Yellow Category Hint
Verbs meaning to proclaim or broadcast loudly
Think: Think: fanfare, public declaration
Yellow Category Name
ANNOUNCE
Yellow Category Words
Reveal word 1
BLAREReveal word 2
HERALDReveal word 3
SOUNDReveal word 4
TRUMPETGreen Connections Hints
Green Category Hint
Things you interact with on a digital screen
Think: Think: cursor, interface, tap
Green Category Name
THINGS TO CLICK
Green Category Words
Reveal word 1
BUTTONReveal word 2
ICONReveal word 3
LINKReveal word 4
MENUBlue Connections Hints
Blue Category Hint
Each one connects to pearls in a different way
Think: Think: literal, figurative, culinary
Blue Category Name
ASSOCIATED WITH PEARLS
Blue Category Words
Reveal word 1
BUBBLE TEAReveal word 2
OYSTERReveal word 3
SWINEReveal word 4
WISDOMPurple Connections Hints
Purple Category Hint
Each word secretly begins with an alcoholic drink
Think: Think: hidden prefix, first syllable
Purple Category Name
STARTING WITH ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
Purple Category Words
Reveal word 1
ALEXAReveal word 2
MEADOWReveal word 3
PORTOBELLOReveal word 4
SAKESNYT Connections Answers for July 20, 2026
NYT Connections Answers Explained: July 20, 2026
ANNOUNCE
BLARE, HERALD, SOUND, and TRUMPET all mean to announce or proclaim something loudly and publicly — each word's verb sense carries the idea of making something known with force or fanfare.
- BLARE
- To blare is to make a loud, harsh noise — and by extension to broadcast or announce something so loudly it cannot be ignored.
- HERALD
- To herald something is to announce its arrival publicly, often with ceremony — historically heralds were official public announcers.
- SOUND
- To sound something — as in sound the alarm, or sound a warning — means to announce or signal it publicly.
- TRUMPET
- To trumpet something is to announce it loudly and proudly, the way a fanfare of trumpets would announce a royal arrival.
THINGS TO CLICK
BUTTON, ICON, LINK, and MENU are all standard elements of a digital interface that a user clicks or taps to navigate or trigger an action.
- BUTTON
- A clickable element on a screen — a submit button, a play button — distinct from the physical button on clothing.
- ICON
- A small image on a screen representing an app or function — you click or tap it to open something.
- LINK
- A hyperlink on a webpage — clicking it takes you to another page or resource.
- MENU
- A dropdown or navigation menu on a screen — you click it to reveal a list of options, distinct from a restaurant menu.
ASSOCIATED WITH PEARLS
BUBBLE TEA, OYSTER, SWINE, and WISDOM each connect to pearls in a distinct way — through the drink's tapioca balls, the shellfish that makes them, the biblical proverb, and the phrase pearls of wisdom.
- BUBBLE TEA
- Bubble tea contains chewy tapioca balls at the bottom that are commonly called pearls — the drink is sometimes called pearl milk tea.
- OYSTER
- Oysters are the shellfish that produce real pearls — a grain of sand irritates the oyster and it coats it in nacre to form a pearl.
- SWINE
- From the biblical phrase casting pearls before swine — meaning offering something valuable to people who will not appreciate it.
- WISDOM
- From the phrase pearls of wisdom — meaning small but valuable pieces of advice or insight, treating wisdom as something precious like a pearl.
STARTING WITH ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
ALEXA, MEADOW, PORTOBELLO, and SAKES each begin with the name of an alcoholic drink hidden inside the word — ALE, MEAD, PORT, and SAKE respectively.
- ALEXA
- ALEXA starts with ALE — a type of beer — followed by XA, making the drink invisible unless you are looking for it.
- MEADOW
- MEADOW starts with MEAD — an alcoholic drink made from fermented honey — followed by OW, disguising it as a simple nature word.
- PORTOBELLO
- PORTOBELLO starts with PORT — a fortified wine from Portugal — followed by OBELLO, making it look like nothing more than a mushroom variety.
- SAKES
- SAKES starts with SAKE — Japanese rice wine — followed by S, and the whole word reads naturally as the plural of sake meaning purpose or benefit.
