NYT Connections July 22 arrived with a splash of flair. Today’s puzzle toyed with tone, texture, and dessert. The sass was unmistakable, and the layers of meaning demanded sharp observation. A blend of slang, visual motifs, and sweet endings made this one stand out in the daily archive.
If one theme didn't click, another surely will. Whether solving started with pie or patterns, players had fun navigating it all.
Stay tuned for a full breakdown of NYT Connections today, complete with NYT Connections answers, clues, and some insight into the puzzle's misdirections.
Every day, 16 seemingly unrelated words appear in NYT Connections. The goal is to put them into four sets of four, with each set linked by a common theme.
The themes might be the blatantly obvious or the cleverly disguised. Difficulty is color-coded:
Yellow: Easy connections
Green: Medium
Blue: Harder
Purple: Trickiest, often wordplay-based
Shuffling the words can help uncover hidden links. Each puzzle has only one correct solution.
Today's puzzle offered this mix:
CHESS, CHEEK, WHOOPIE, CUSHION, TEMPER, CHECKERS, HUMBLE, ATTITUDE, LIP, SOFTEN, HONEYCOMB, CUTIE, DAMPEN, CAMO, MOUTH, STRIPES
At first glance, some words looked playful, while others suggested tone and patterns.
Need a nudge before jumping to the solution? Here are the soft clues:
Yellow: Related to being mouthy
Green: To reduce or soften something
Blue: Designs that repeat visually
Purple: Common pie names
Looking for just a whisper of help? These single-word hints matched each group:
MOUTH
TEMPER
HONEYCOMB
HUMBLE
Here are the confirmed categories and their respective groupings:
Sassiness — ATTITUDE, CHEEK, LIP, MOUTH
Mitigate — CUSHION, DAMPEN, SOFTEN, TEMPER
Patterns — CAMO, CHECKERS, HONEYCOMB, STRIPES
_____ Pie — CHESS, CUTIE, HUMBLE, WHOOPIE
The yellow group comes together quickly. ATTITUDE, CHEEK, LIP, and MOUTH all relate to being sassy or outspoken. The theme was as loud as the words themselves.
The green group demands a bit more logic. Words like SOFTEN, TEMPER, and DAMPEN point towards toning things down. CUSHION brings that physical and metaphorical softness to round it out.
Blue takes players on a visual tour. CAMO, STRIPES, CHECKERS, and HONEYCOMB are all repeating design patterns. Once CHECKERS clicks, the rest will follow.
Purple has fun with language. CHESS, WHOOPIE, CUTIE, and HUMBLE all make sense when paired with "pie." Some are literal, some figurative. Wordplay lovers are likely to appreciate the layered pun.
NYT Connections Today, July 22, is a treat. It showcases clever groupings that span attitude, aesthetics, action, and dessert. It is one of those puzzles where each category has its own texture: emotional, visual, and linguistic.
NYT Connections on July 22 reminds players why they return daily. It blends cleverness with curiosity and sprinkles in a few pop culture laughs. Stay tuned for NYT Connections Hints July 22 each morning, and check back tomorrow for another brain workout.
Keep solving, keep sharing, and most importantly, enjoy the wordplay ride.