Welcome back, Connectioneers!

If you’re searching for today’s NYT Connections hints and answers, you’ve landed in the right place. Puzzle #1108 delivers a fun mix of pop culture knowledge, board game references, dance styles, and one particularly sneaky Purple category that may leave many players scratching their heads.

At first glance, today’s board feels a little deceptive. Several words seem like they belong together, while others appear completely random. That’s often where Connections gets its magic. The game loves planting red herrings and tempting players into categories that almost work.

For me, today’s puzzle felt easier than yesterday’s overall, but the final category contained one of those classic Connections twists that you either spot immediately or never see coming.

As always, we’ll begin with spoiler-free hints before moving into categories and the full answers.

Let’s get started.

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 receive sixteen words and must organize them into four groups of four related terms.

The connections can involve:

• Synonyms
• Shared themes
• Pop culture references
• Wordplay
• Hidden meanings
• Common phrases

The groups are color-coded according to difficulty:

🟨 Yellow — Easiest

🟩 Green — Medium

🟦 Blue — Challenging

🟪 Purple — Most Difficult

You can make up to four mistakes before the game ends, so every guess counts.

Part of the challenge is figuring out which connections are real and which are merely distractions.

Today’s NYT Connections Word List

Here are today’s 16 words:

• MONEY
• YANKEES
• HOTEL
• FOXTROT
• MODERN
• FIREPLACE
• POPULAR
• DEED
• EMPEROR
• FEATURED
• TOKEN
• TAP
• RECENT
• SWING
• EARTH
• TRENDING

Take a moment to look them over.

Several possible groupings immediately jump out, but don’t rush. A few of today’s words are designed to lure players toward incorrect assumptions.

Today’s NYT Connections Hints

Need a little help before seeing the answers?

🟨 Yellow Group Hint

Think movement, rhythm, and music.

🟩 Green Group Hint

You’ll find these inside a very famous board game box.

🟦 Blue Group Hint

You’ve probably clicked one of these options while browsing a website or social media platform.

🟪 Purple Group Hint

The connection isn’t obvious. Think about a hidden word that can pair with each answer.

Still solving?

This is your warning that spoilers are approaching.

NYT Connections – One Answer Per Group

Need an extra clue?

Here’s one answer from each category:

🟨 Yellow Group — SWING

🟩 Green Group — TOKEN

🟦 Blue Group — FEATURED

🟪 Purple Group — YANKEES

If you’re still working through the puzzle, now is the time to stop scrolling.

The category names are next.

Today’s NYT Connections Categories

The official categories for Puzzle #1108 are:

🟨 Yellow — Dance Styles

🟩 Green — In A Monopoly Box

🟦 Blue — Online Content Sorting Options

🟪 Purple — Things With Mantles/Mantels

Ready for the complete solution?

Let’s reveal the answers.

Today’s NYT Connections Answers

🟨 Yellow Group — Dance Styles

Answers:

• FOXTROT
• MODERN
• SWING
• TAP

This was probably the easiest category for many players.

Each word refers to a recognized style of dance.

Why This Category Worked

FOXTROT and TAP immediately stood out to me as dance-related terms. Once SWING appeared alongside them, the connection became much clearer.

MODERN may have been the least obvious entry, but modern dance is a well-established style that fits perfectly within the category.

Difficulty Rating

⭐ 1/5

A straightforward Yellow group that many players likely solved first.

🟩 Green Group — In A Monopoly Box

Answers:

• DEED
• HOTEL
• MONEY
• TOKEN

Anyone familiar with Monopoly probably recognized this category quickly.

All four items are iconic parts of the classic board game.

Breaking Down The Answers

Money is used throughout the game for buying properties and paying rent.

Hotels are one of the most recognizable upgrades players can purchase.

Deeds represent ownership of properties.

Tokens are the pieces players move around the board.

Why This Category Was Fun

This category blends nostalgia with general knowledge. Even players who haven’t played Monopoly recently likely recognized most of these items.

Difficulty Rating

⭐⭐ 2/5

Easy if you’ve played Monopoly. Slightly harder if you haven’t.

🟦 Blue Group — Online Content Sorting Options

Answers:

• FEATURED
• POPULAR
• RECENT
• TRENDING

As someone who spends far too much time online, this category jumped out immediately.

These are common filters or sorting options found across websites, social platforms, forums, and content hubs.

Where You Might See These

• News websites
• Social media feeds
• Video platforms
• Gaming forums
• Blog archives

Most platforms allow users to browse content based on what’s featured, popular, recent, or currently trending.

Why It Was Easier Than It Looked

At first glance, the words don’t seem connected.

However, if you’ve spent any time browsing online content, the relationship becomes obvious very quickly.

Difficulty Rating

⭐⭐ 2/5

Internet users likely solved this group almost instantly.

🟪 Purple Group — Things With Mantles/Mantels

Answers:

• EARTH
• EMPEROR
• FIREPLACE
• YANKEES

And here we arrive at today’s trickiest category.

This is exactly the type of Purple group that makes Connections both frustrating and brilliant.

The Hidden Connection

Each answer can be paired with the word:

Mantle or Mantel

Let’s break it down:

• Earth’s mantle
• Emperor mantle
• Fireplace mantel
• Yankees mantle

The last answer refers to legendary baseball player Mickey Mantle, who famously played for the Yankees.

Why This Category Was So Difficult

Most players can easily identify a fireplace mantel.

Some may also recognize Earth’s mantle from geology.

However, connecting Emperor and Yankees to mantle/mantel requires a much broader knowledge base.

This category depended heavily on lateral thinking rather than obvious word associations.

My Favorite Category Today

Without question, the Purple group was the standout.

It’s the type of category that feels impossible until someone explains it—and then suddenly it seems obvious.

That’s classic Connections.

Difficulty Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5

One of the toughest Purple categories we’ve seen recently.

My Thoughts On Puzzle #1108

I thought today’s puzzle was fascinating because the difficulty wasn’t evenly distributed.

The Yellow category felt very straightforward.

The Green category was fairly easy once HOTEL and TOKEN suggested Monopoly.

The Blue category practically solved itself if you’re active online.

Then came Purple.

That’s where everything changed.

YANKEES felt completely disconnected from the rest of the board. FIREPLACE suggested household items. EARTH hinted at science. EMPEROR pointed toward history or royalty.

Nothing seemed to connect them naturally.

The moment you realize the category revolves around “mantle” or “mantel,” however, the puzzle suddenly clicks into place.

Those are the moments that keep Connections players coming back every day.

Difficulty Rating For Puzzle #1108

Overall Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐ (3/5)

Category Breakdown:

🟨 Yellow — 1/5

🟩 Green — 2/5

🟦 Blue — 2/5

🟪 Purple — 5/5

Most of today’s challenge came from the final category rather than the puzzle as a whole.

Strategy Tip Of The Day

When a few words seem completely unrelated, consider whether they might connect through a hidden word.

Purple categories often rely on:

• Shared prefixes
• Shared suffixes
• Homophones
• Hidden words
• Famous names
• Word pairings

If nothing else makes sense, try asking:

“What single word could connect all of these?”

That approach would have been extremely useful today.

Final Thoughts

NYT Connections Puzzle #1108 delivered another entertaining challenge with a nice balance of accessibility and cleverness.

The Dance Styles category provided an easy starting point, Monopoly fans likely enjoyed the Green group, and frequent internet users probably solved the Blue category immediately. The Purple category, meanwhile, delivered the kind of satisfying twist that has become a trademark of Connections.

While not the hardest puzzle of the year overall, Puzzle #1108 featured one of the more creative final categories we’ve seen recently.

How did you do today? Did you spot the mantle connection right away, or did the Purple group leave you stumped until the end?

Let me know your score and favorite category, and be sure to check back tomorrow for another complete NYT Connections hints and answers guide.