Welcome back, Connectors!

Thursday’s NYT Connections puzzle delivers another satisfying mix of straightforward categories, clever misdirection, and a Purple group that may leave many players scratching their heads until the very end. Puzzle #1110 isn’t among the toughest boards we’ve seen this month, but it does contain a few sneaky traps that can easily send you down the wrong path.

When I first looked at today’s grid, several words immediately stood out. A handful appeared to belong to sports categories, while others suggested technology or science. As usual, Connections takes advantage of those first impressions and uses them against you.

The result is a puzzle that’s approachable for most players but still offers enough challenge to make the final solve feel rewarding.

If you’re looking for today’s NYT Connections hints, categories, and answers, you’ve come to the right place.

Let’s get rolling.

NYT Connections – How To Play

Connections is one of the most popular daily word games from The New York Times.

The goal is simple:

Players are presented with sixteen words and must organize them into four groups of four.

Each group shares a hidden connection. The challenge is figuring out what those connections are before running out of guesses.

Categories may involve:

• Synonyms
• Common phrases
• Pop culture references
• Science
• History
• Wordplay
• Hidden meanings

The groups are color-coded by difficulty:

🟨 Yellow — Easiest

🟩 Green — Moderate

🟦 Blue — Challenging

🟪 Purple — Most Difficult

Players can make four mistakes before the game ends.

Part of the fun comes from identifying real connections while avoiding the red herrings deliberately placed throughout the board.

Today’s NYT Connections Word List

Here are today’s sixteen words:

• POLONIUM
• CRANIUM
• COMPACT
• HOCKEY
• CROQUETTE
• TRACKPAD
• LEAD
• SQUASHED
• MERCURY
• DUCTILE
• DENSE
• MICROPHONE
• MONITOR
• FRANCIUM
• PRINTER
• COMPRESSED

Take a moment to study the board before moving on.

Some categories may already be becoming apparent.

Need a hint?

Today’s NYT Connections Hints

Here are some spoiler-free clues for each category.

🟨 Yellow Group Hint

You may be using several of these right now.

🟩 Green Group Hint

There’s very little space between things here.

🟦 Blue Group Hint

These substances can be dangerous to humans.

🟪 Purple Group Hint

Focus on the beginning of each word rather than the complete word itself.

Still solving?

We’re about to move into spoiler territory.

One Answer Per Group

Need another clue?

Here’s one answer from each category.

🟨 Yellow Group — MONITOR

🟩 Green Group — DENSE

🟦 Blue Group — POLONIUM

🟪 Purple Group — CRANIUM

If you’re still working through the puzzle, now is your last chance to turn back.

The category names are next.

Today’s NYT Connections Categories

The official categories for Puzzle #1110 are:

🟨 Computer Peripherals

🟩 Tightly Packed

🟦 Hazardous Elemental Metals

🟪 Starting With Bird Homophones

Ready for the full solution?

Let’s reveal today’s answers.

Today’s NYT Connections Answers

🟨 Yellow Group — Computer Peripherals

Answers:

• MICROPHONE
• MONITOR
• PRINTER
• TRACKPAD

This was probably the easiest category on the board.

All four answers are computer peripherals or devices commonly connected to a computer system.

Why This Category Worked

Most players likely identified MONITOR and PRINTER immediately.

TRACKPAD and MICROPHONE fit naturally once the technology theme became clear.

Anyone who regularly uses a computer probably solved this group quickly.

Difficulty Rating

⭐ 1/5

A very straightforward Yellow category.

🟩 Green Group — Tightly Packed

Answers:

• COMPACT
• COMPRESSED
• DENSE
• SQUASHED

This category focuses on things that have been pressed together or occupy very little space.

Breaking Down The Connection

Each word suggests something that is crowded, squeezed, or condensed.

• Compact
• Compressed
• Dense
• Squashed

All describe objects or materials that have little room between their parts.

Why Players Solved It Quickly

The meanings are closely related, making this one of the more obvious synonym-based groups we’ve seen recently.

Difficulty Rating

⭐⭐ 2/5

Slightly harder than Yellow but still fairly approachable.

🟦 Blue Group — Hazardous Elemental Metals

Answers:

• FRANCIUM
• LEAD
• MERCURY
• POLONIUM

Science fans probably recognized this category immediately.

All four answers are chemical elements known for their dangerous properties.

Why These Elements Are Hazardous

Lead is toxic and has been linked to serious health problems.

Mercury is highly poisonous and can damage the nervous system.

Polonium is radioactive and extremely dangerous.

Francium is one of the rarest naturally occurring elements and is highly radioactive.

Why This Group Was Interesting

Unlike many science-based categories, this one remained accessible because most players are familiar with at least lead and mercury.

Those two answers helped reveal the larger pattern.

Difficulty Rating

⭐⭐⭐ 3/5

A moderate challenge for players without a science background.

🟪 Purple Group — Starting With Bird Homophones

Answers:

• CRANIUM
• CROQUETTE
• DUCTILE
• HOCKEY

And here we arrive at today’s Purple category.

As usual, the trickiest group relies on wordplay rather than definitions.

The Hidden Pattern

Each word begins with a sound that matches the name of a bird.

Let’s break it down:

• CRANIUM → Crane
• CROQUETTE → Crow
• DUCTILE → Duck
• HOCKEY → Hawk

Once you hear the opening sounds, the category suddenly makes perfect sense.

Why This Category Was Difficult

Very few players would naturally associate these words with birds.

The connection only becomes clear when you focus on pronunciation rather than meaning.

That’s classic Connections Purple-group design.

Difficulty Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5

Easily the toughest category in today’s puzzle.

The Biggest Red Herrings In Puzzle #1110

Today’s board included several misleading connections.

The most obvious trap involved sports.

Words like:

• HOCKEY
• CROQUETTE
• SQUASHED

suggested sports-related categories.

Many players likely noticed:

• Hockey
• Croquet
• Squash

and immediately started searching for a fourth sport.

That assumption turns out to be incorrect.

Another distraction involved technology terms mixed among unrelated words, making it difficult to know whether a category was complete or only partially formed.

These red herrings added just enough challenge without making the puzzle frustrating.

My Thoughts On Today’s Puzzle

I thought Puzzle #1110 was one of the better-balanced Connections boards this week.

The Yellow category offered a quick entry point.

The Green category felt logical and satisfying.

The Blue category rewarded a bit of scientific knowledge without becoming too obscure.

The Purple category delivered the strongest “aha!” moment.

I particularly enjoyed how the bird homophone theme remained completely hidden until the very end. Those are often the most memorable Connections categories because they force players to look at words from an entirely different perspective.

Was Today’s Connections Hard?

Here’s my difficulty breakdown:

Category Ratings

🟨 Yellow — 1/5

🟩 Green — 2/5

🟦 Blue — 3/5

🟪 Purple — 5/5

Overall Puzzle Difficulty

⭐⭐⭐☆☆ (3/5)

The first three categories were fairly manageable.

The Purple category did most of the heavy lifting when it came to overall difficulty.

Connections Strategy Tip

When you reach the final four words and nothing obvious connects them, stop focusing on meanings.

Instead, look for:

• Pronunciation patterns
• Shared sounds
• Prefixes
• Suffixes
• Hidden words
• Homophones

Many Purple categories rely on language tricks rather than vocabulary knowledge.

Today’s puzzle is a perfect example.

Final Thoughts

NYT Connections Puzzle #1110 delivers another enjoyable challenge with a nice balance of technology, science, vocabulary, and wordplay.

The Computer Peripherals category provides an easy starting point, while Hazardous Elemental Metals introduces a bit of scientific thinking. The real highlight, however, is the Purple group, which cleverly hides bird names inside ordinary words through pronunciation.

While not the hardest puzzle of the year, today’s board offers enough twists and red herrings to keep players engaged from start to finish.

How did you do today? Did you spot the bird homophones before revealing the answers, or did the Purple category completely catch you off guard?

Be sure to return tomorrow for another complete NYT Connections hints and answers guide, along with category breakdowns, puzzle analysis, and solving strategies.