NYT Connections Hints, Answers & Clues -
NYT Connections #1137 Tip
One category hides a rock band among animal anatomy.
What Makes NYT Connections #1137 Tricky?
HIVES, PINS, VINES, and STROKES sit in the same grid as MANE, RASH, and TWEETS — a collision of medical, social, animal, and sports vocabulary that makes almost nothing feel settled.
The editor's main trick is that several words have a dominant everyday meaning that belongs to a completely different group than the one the puzzle intends.
Medium difficulty — one group should click quickly once you spot its theme, but two others require you to override your first instinct about what these words obviously mean.
Connections Hints for Every Word in the July 22, 2026 Puzzle
WHITE STRIPES
Connections hint for WHITE STRIPES
Looks like a description of zebra markings — and it is, but it is also something else entirely that the puzzle actually uses.
HOLE
Connections hint for HOLE
On a golf course, each hole is a numbered unit of play — you tee off and aim for the cup.
PINS
Connections hint for PINS
In bowling these are what you knock down — but here the puzzle uses the social media sense: saved posts on Pinterest.
STROKES
Connections hint for STROKES
Each swing of a golf club counts as one stroke — your total strokes determine your score.
HIVES
Connections hint for HIVES
Raised, itchy welts on the skin — a classic sign of an allergic reaction.
HOOVES
Connections hint for HOOVES
The hard keratin feet of a horse, donkey, or zebra — a zebra walks on four of them.
VINES
Connections hint for VINES
Short looping video clips posted on the now-defunct Vine app — not the climbing plants.
SCORE
Connections hint for SCORE
On a golf scorecard, your score is the total number of strokes taken across all holes.
SNAPS
Connections hint for SNAPS
Photos or short videos sent through Snapchat — not the sound of fingers or the action of breaking something.
RASH
Connections hint for RASH
A patch of red, irritated skin — one of the most visible symptoms of an allergic reaction.
MANE
Connections hint for MANE
The long hair running along a zebra's neck and between its ears — also found on horses and lions.
TWEETS
Connections hint for TWEETS
Posts made on the platform formerly known as Twitter — not the chirping sounds birds make.
PAR
Connections hint for PAR
The expected number of strokes a skilled golfer should need to complete a hole — under par is good.
REDNESS
Connections hint for REDNESS
Skin that turns red and inflamed — a common visible symptom of an allergic reaction.
TAIL
Connections hint for TAIL
The long hair-tipped appendage at the rear of a zebra — also a feature of horses and other mammals.
ITCHING
Connections hint for ITCHING
An uncomfortable urge to scratch — one of the first sensations during an allergic reaction.
Traps & Misdirects Hints for NYT Connections Puzzle (#1137)
HIVES is a classic allergic skin reaction, RASH is the red irritated skin you get from an allergy, and PINS and NEEDLES is a sensation associated with nerve irritation — grouping these three as allergy or skin symptoms feels completely natural. That cluster is a trap. One of these words belongs somewhere else entirely, and the puzzle is counting on you to miss it.
STROKES, HOLE, and SCORE are all things you track in a round of golf, and they feel like they belong together. They do share a category, but a fourth word in the grid belongs with them — and without it you will be one short and unable to complete the group.
VINES are what grow up a trellis, TWEETS are bird sounds, and SNAPS are the sounds fingers make — none of those readings are what is happening here. All three are platform-specific post formats from social media apps, and the puzzle uses that sense, not the natural-world one.
WHITE STRIPES looks like a description of a zebra's markings, and a zebra's white stripes are literally a feature of the animal. That reading is the decoy. WHITE STRIPES is also the name of a famous rock duo, and the puzzle is using it in a different sense than animal anatomy.
Connections Hints for July 22, 2026
Yellow Connections Hints
Yellow Category Hint
Signs your body is reacting badly to something
Think: Think: skin, inflammation, discomfort
Yellow Category Name
SYMPTOMS OF AN ALLERGIC REACTION
Yellow Category Words
Reveal word 1
HIVESReveal word 2
ITCHINGReveal word 3
RASHReveal word 4
REDNESSGreen Connections Hints
Green Category Hint
Numbers and terms tracked during a round of golf
Think: Think: scorecard columns, golf lingo
Green Category Name
ON A GOLF SCORECARD
Green Category Words
Reveal word 1
HOLEReveal word 2
PARReveal word 3
SCOREReveal word 4
STROKESBlue Connections Hints
Blue Category Hint
Named posts on four different social platforms
Think: Think: app-specific content formats
Blue Category Name
PLATFORM-SPECIFIC POSTS
Blue Category Words
Reveal word 1
PINSReveal word 2
SNAPSReveal word 3
TWEETSReveal word 4
VINESPurple Connections Hints
Purple Category Hint
Physical characteristics you would see on a zebra
Think: Think: what makes a zebra a zebra
Purple Category Name
FEATURES OF A ZEBRA
Purple Category Words
Reveal word 1
HOOVESReveal word 2
MANEReveal word 3
TAILReveal word 4
WHITE STRIPESNYT Connections Answers for July 22, 2026
NYT Connections Answers Explained: July 22, 2026
SYMPTOMS OF AN ALLERGIC REACTION
HIVES, ITCHING, RASH, and REDNESS are all classic symptoms that appear when the body has an allergic reaction — each one describes something you would see or feel on the skin.
- HIVES
- Raised, itchy welts that appear on the skin during an allergic reaction — one of the most recognisable signs.
- ITCHING
- The persistent urge to scratch that often accompanies skin inflammation — frequently the first sensation of a reaction.
- RASH
- A patch of red, irritated, or bumpy skin that spreads when the body reacts to an allergen.
- REDNESS
- The visible flushing or inflammation of skin that signals the immune system is responding to something.
ON A GOLF SCORECARD
HOLE, PAR, SCORE, and STROKES are all terms you find printed on a standard golf scorecard — each one labels a different column or concept used to track a round.
- HOLE
- Each numbered unit of play on a golf course — a standard round has 18 holes, each listed as a row on the scorecard.
- PAR
- The target number of strokes for a given hole — a par-3 should take three shots, a par-5 five shots.
- SCORE
- The total number of strokes a player takes — recorded hole by hole and summed at the end of the round.
- STROKES
- Each individual swing of the club counts as one stroke — the raw unit of measurement on any scorecard.
PLATFORM-SPECIFIC POSTS
PINS, SNAPS, TWEETS, and VINES are all names for the specific type of post or content unit associated with a particular social media platform — each platform coined its own word.
- PINS
- The name for saved posts or images on Pinterest — when you save something to a board, you pin it.
- SNAPS
- Photos or short videos sent or posted through Snapchat — the platform's own term for its content format.
- TWEETS
- Posts made on Twitter, now rebranded as X — the word tweet was Twitter's own coinage for a short text update.
- VINES
- Short looping video clips posted on Vine, the now-defunct platform — each clip was called a Vine.
FEATURES OF A ZEBRA
HOOVES, MANE, TAIL, and WHITE STRIPES are all physical features you would observe on a zebra — the first three are shared with horses, but the last one is the zebra's defining characteristic.
- HOOVES
- The hard keratin-covered feet that zebras share with horses and donkeys — zebras have one hoof per leg.
- MANE
- The strip of upright hair running along the top of a zebra's neck — shorter and stiffer than a horse's mane.
- TAIL
- The tufted tail at the rear of a zebra — like a horse's tail but typically ending in a dark tuft of hair.
- WHITE STRIPES
- The defining visual feature of a zebra — the white stripes alternating with black across its entire body, unique to each individual animal.
