What is the NYT Connections answer for April 3 (#1027)?

The four groups are CATTY (MEAN, PETTY, SMALL, SNIDE); HANKER (FOR) (JONES, LONG, LUST, THIRST); COCKTAIL GLASSES (COLLINS, HURRICANE, ROCKS, ZOMBIE); ___ CONTROL (CRUISE, DAMAGE, GROUND, MISSION).

Which Connections group is hardest today?

The purple group — "___ CONTROL" — is the trickiest, as it usually relies on wordplay or a hidden connection rather than a straightforward category.

What do the Connections colors mean?

Yellow is the easiest group, then green, then blue, and purple is the hardest — often involving wordplay or a hidden twist.

Friday, April 3, 2026#1027

NYT Connections Hints & Answer — Friday, April 3

DailyWordHints Editorial April 3

CATTY

Easiest

HANKER (FOR)

Easy

COCKTAIL GLASSES

Tricky

___ CONTROL

Hardest

Today's NYT Connections groups are CATTY (yellow), HANKER (FOR) (green), COCKTAIL GLASSES (blue), ___ CONTROL (purple).

PETTY

CRUISE

LONG

ZOMBIE

HURRICANE

JONES

GROUND

COLLINS

MISSION

SMALL

LUST

SNIDE

MEAN

THIRST

DAMAGE

ROCKS

Hints by group

yellowEasiest

greenEasy

blueTricky

purpleHardest

Full answers below

Today’s answers

yellowEasiest

greenEasy

blueTricky

purpleHardest

See all past Connections puzzles →

Today's Connections hints (no answers yet)

Here are spoiler-free nudges for NYT Connections #1027, Friday, April 3. Reveal one color at a time and work from the easiest group (yellow) to the trickiest (purple).

How to use these hints

Each clue is written so it never names any of the sixteen words — it just points you in the right direction. Open the full answer only once you're truly stuck.

Strategy for solving today's grid

Lock in the group you're most confident about first to shrink the board, but resist the obvious four-of-a-kind — the puzzle almost always plants a word that fits two themes. Save the purple group for last; it usually hides the wordplay twist.

Frequently asked questions

What is the NYT Connections answer for April 3 (#1027)?: The four groups are CATTY (MEAN, PETTY, SMALL, SNIDE); HANKER (FOR) (JONES, LONG, LUST, THIRST); COCKTAIL GLASSES (COLLINS, HURRICANE, ROCKS, ZOMBIE); ___ CONTROL (CRUISE, DAMAGE, GROUND, MISSION).
Which Connections group is hardest today?: The purple group — "___ CONTROL" — is the trickiest, as it usually relies on wordplay or a hidden connection rather than a straightforward category.
What do the Connections colors mean?: Yellow is the easiest group, then green, then blue, and purple is the hardest — often involving wordplay or a hidden twist.