What is the NYT Connections answer for July 17 (#1132)?

The four groups are GRAND FINALE (EPILOGUE, FAREWELL, LAST DANCE, SWAN SONG); SEEN IN AN ARCADE (CRANE GAME, PINBALL, TICKETS, TOKENS); FOUR GROUPS OF FOUR (CARDINAL DIRECTIONS, CLASSICAL ELEMENTS, SEASONS, SUITS); ENDING IN PARTS OF A CAR (PLOT SPOILER, ROBIN HOOD, SATIRES, TREE TRUNK).

Which Connections group is hardest today?

The purple group — "ENDING IN PARTS OF A CAR" — 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, July 17, 2026#1132

NYT Connections Hints & Answer — Friday, July 17

DailyWordHints Editorial July 17

GRAND FINALE

Easiest

SEEN IN AN ARCADE

Easy

FOUR GROUPS OF FOUR

Tricky

ENDING IN PARTS OF A CAR

Hardest

Today's NYT Connections groups are GRAND FINALE (yellow), SEEN IN AN ARCADE (green), FOUR GROUPS OF FOUR (blue), ENDING IN PARTS OF A CAR (purple).

CRANE GAME

SATIRES

TICKETS

CARDINAL DIRECTIONS

SWAN SONG

SUITS

ROBIN HOOD

PLOT SPOILER

TREE TRUNK

TOKENS

SEASONS

EPILOGUE

LAST DANCE

CLASSICAL ELEMENTS

FAREWELL

PINBALL

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 #1132, Friday, July 17. 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 July 17 (#1132)?: The four groups are GRAND FINALE (EPILOGUE, FAREWELL, LAST DANCE, SWAN SONG); SEEN IN AN ARCADE (CRANE GAME, PINBALL, TICKETS, TOKENS); FOUR GROUPS OF FOUR (CARDINAL DIRECTIONS, CLASSICAL ELEMENTS, SEASONS, SUITS); ENDING IN PARTS OF A CAR (PLOT SPOILER, ROBIN HOOD, SATIRES, TREE TRUNK).
Which Connections group is hardest today?: The purple group — "ENDING IN PARTS OF A CAR" — 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.