NYT Connections Hints, Answers & Clues -
NYT Connections #1113 Tip
Several words here are doing a completely different job than you expect.
What Makes NYT Connections #1113 Tricky?
Words like PICK, SLIDE, FINE, and CAPO sit in the same grid as CHESS, CORPORATION, and SURFER — a collision of music, board games, business, and quality descriptors that makes the first scan feel genuinely scattered.
The editor's trick is that several words have a strong everyday meaning that pulls you toward the wrong group — the verb sense, the adjective sense, or the food sense all feel more natural than the specialist meaning the puzzle actually wants.
Sunday difficulty means it lands in the medium range — one or two groups snap into place quickly, but the guitarist accessories group in particular requires you to set aside the obvious reading of each word and think about physical objects.
Connections Hints for Every Word in the June 28, 2026 Puzzle
PICK
Connections hint for PICK
Usually means to choose — but here it is the small flat plectrum a guitarist holds between thumb and finger to strum strings.
CHESS
Connections hint for CHESS
The strategy board game played on a checkered grid — and the word board is exactly what connects it to the other words in its group.
START
Connections hint for START
To begin something — one of four words in this puzzle that all signal the moment something gets underway.
SELECT
Connections hint for SELECT
Sounds like a verb meaning to choose, but here it is an adjective meaning carefully chosen and therefore of high quality — a select few.
CHOICE
Connections hint for CHOICE
Usually means an option you pick from — but as an adjective it means top-grade or premium, the way a butcher labels the best cuts.
GO
Connections hint for GO
A signal to begin — as in on your marks, get set, go — not the board game Go, even though CHESS is also in this grid.
SLIDE
Connections hint for SLIDE
Usually means to glide across a surface — but here it is a hollow metal or glass tube a guitarist wears on a finger to create a smooth gliding sound on the strings.
CORPORATION
Connections hint for CORPORATION
A type of business entity — and like the others in its group, it has a board: the board of directors that governs it.
BEGIN
Connections hint for BEGIN
To start something — one of four straightforward signals to commence in this puzzle.
PRIME
Connections hint for PRIME
Makes you think of prime numbers or a streaming service — but here it is an adjective meaning first-rate or top quality, the way USDA Prime labels the best beef.
SURFER
Connections hint for SURFER
Someone who rides waves — and they stand on a board, which is the connection the puzzle is using.
STRAP
Connections hint for STRAP
The band a guitarist slings over their shoulder to hold the guitar while standing — a physical accessory, not a metaphor.
CAPO
Connections hint for CAPO
Sounds like a mob boss rank — but here it is the small clamp a guitarist clips across the fretboard to raise the pitch of all strings at once.
DARTS
Connections hint for DARTS
The pub throwing game — played on a dartboard, which is the board that connects it to the others in its group.
NOW
Connections hint for NOW
Immediately, at this moment — used as a signal to commence, as in do it now.
FINE
Connections hint for FINE
Usually means acceptable or okay — but here it means excellent or of high quality, the older and more formal sense of the word.
Traps & Misdirects Hints for NYT Connections Puzzle (#1113)
PICK means to choose something, SLIDE means to move smoothly across a surface, and CAPO sounds like a mob boss title — all three have strong non-music meanings that feel completely natural. That everyday reading is a dead end here. All three are physical objects a guitarist clips, holds, or places on the instrument.
FINE usually means okay or acceptable rather than excellent, and SELECT sounds more like a verb than an adjective — so grouping all four as synonyms for high-quality is not the first instinct. That verb reading of SELECT is the trap: here it is an adjective meaning carefully chosen and therefore excellent.
These four look like the most obvious group in the grid — they all mean commence. That instinct is correct, but GO is the word most likely to make you second-guess yourself because it also appears in chess (as in the board game Go) and in common phrases that have nothing to do with starting. Confirm GO belongs here before locking it in.
CHESS, DARTS, and SURFER all feel like they belong to completely different worlds — a strategy game, a pub sport, and a beach lifestyle — so grouping them together feels wrong. The connection is not what these things are but what they all have in common as objects or entities: each one involves a board.
Connections Hints for June 28, 2026
Yellow Connections Hints
Yellow Category Hint
Four adjectives all meaning top-grade or premium
Think: Think: butcher's label, top shelf
Yellow Category Name
HIGH-QUALITY
Yellow Category Words
Reveal word 1
CHOICEReveal word 2
FINEReveal word 3
PRIMEReveal word 4
SELECTGreen Connections Hints
Green Category Hint
Words used to signal that something should begin right now
Think: Think: race starter, countdown end
Green Category Name
SIGNALS TO COMMENCE
Green Category Words
Reveal word 1
BEGINReveal word 2
GOReveal word 3
NOWReveal word 4
STARTBlue Connections Hints
Blue Category Hint
Physical objects a guitarist attaches to or uses on the instrument
Think: Think: fretboard, shoulder, strings
Blue Category Name
ACCESSORIES FOR A GUITARIST
Blue Category Words
Reveal word 1
CAPOReveal word 2
PICKReveal word 3
SLIDEReveal word 4
STRAPPurple Connections Hints
Purple Category Hint
Things that each involve a flat surface used for play or governance
Think: Think: what do they all have?
Purple Category Name
THEY HAVE BOARDS
Purple Category Words
Reveal word 1
CHESSReveal word 2
CORPORATIONReveal word 3
DARTSReveal word 4
SURFERNYT Connections Answers for June 28, 2026
NYT Connections Answers Explained: June 28, 2026
HIGH-QUALITY
CHOICE, FINE, PRIME, and SELECT are all adjectives meaning top-grade or excellent — each one borrowed from everyday language but carrying a specific sense of premium quality.
- CHOICE
- As an adjective CHOICE means of the highest quality — a choice cut of meat is the best available, not just any option.
- FINE
- Beyond its everyday meaning of acceptable, FINE has a formal sense meaning excellent or of superior quality — fine dining, fine art, fine craftsmanship.
- PRIME
- PRIME as an adjective means first-rate — USDA Prime is the top grade of beef, and prime real estate means the best location.
- SELECT
- As an adjective SELECT means carefully chosen and therefore of high quality — a select group is an exclusive, top-tier one, not just any group.
SIGNALS TO COMMENCE
BEGIN, GO, NOW, and START are all words used to signal that something should get underway — the kind of word you hear at the start of a race, a countdown, or an instruction.
- BEGIN
- A direct instruction to start — begin is the most formal of the four, used in announcements and commands.
- GO
- The classic starter's signal — on your marks, get set, go — the word that releases action at the moment of commencement.
- NOW
- Used as a command to signal immediate commencement — do it now, go now — the urgency word of the group.
- START
- Both a verb meaning to begin and a noun for the moment something commences — the most versatile signal in the group.
ACCESSORIES FOR A GUITARIST
CAPO, PICK, SLIDE, and STRAP are all physical accessories a guitarist uses — each one attaches to, clips onto, or is held against the instrument to change how it is played.
- CAPO
- A capo is a small clamp that clips across all the strings at a chosen fret, raising the pitch of the whole guitar without retuning — standard kit for acoustic players.
- PICK
- A pick — also called a plectrum — is the small flat piece of plastic or nylon a guitarist holds between thumb and forefinger to strum or pluck the strings.
- SLIDE
- A slide is a hollow tube of metal or glass worn on a finger — the guitarist presses it against the strings and moves it up and down the neck to create a smooth gliding sound, common in blues.
- STRAP
- A guitar strap is the band that loops over the guitarist's shoulder and holds the instrument in position while they stand and play.
THEY HAVE BOARDS
CHESS, CORPORATION, DARTS, and SURFER all involve a board — a chessboard, a board of directors, a dartboard, and a surfboard — the connection is the word board that follows or precedes each one.
- CHESS
- Chess is played on a chessboard — the checkered grid of 64 squares is so central to the game that the board is inseparable from it.
- CORPORATION
- A corporation is governed by a board of directors — the board is the group of people at the top who make major decisions for the company.
- DARTS
- Darts is played on a dartboard — the circular target mounted on the wall that players throw at from a fixed distance.
- SURFER
- A surfer rides a surfboard — the long flat board they stand on to catch and ride ocean waves.
