If you searched “Forbes Connections hints,” you are almost certainly looking for one of two things: help with today’s NYT Connections puzzle, or an explanation of why Forbes keeps publishing these daily puzzle guides. Both are answered here. Today’s answers for July 14, 2026 (Puzzle #1129) are included at the bottom of this article with spoiler warnings clearly marked.
Quick Reference Table
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Game Name | NYT Connections |
| Publisher | The New York Times |
| Where To Play | nytimes.com/games/connections |
| Cost | Free to play (archive requires NYT Games subscription) |
| Frequency | Daily — new puzzle at midnight local time |
| Forbes Coverage | Daily hints and answers columns by Kris Holt, Paul Tassi, Erik Kain |
| Today’s Puzzle Number | #1129 (Tuesday, July 14, 2026) |
| Difficulty Colors | 🟡 Yellow (easiest) → 🟢 Green → 🔵 Blue → 🟣 Purple (hardest) |
| Wrong Guesses Allowed | 3 — fourth mistake ends the game |
| Goal | Group 16 words into 4 categories of 4 |
What Forbes Connections Hints Actually Are
Forbes does not make the Connections puzzle. The puzzle is created and owned by The New York Times. Forbes publishes daily columns that provide hints and answers for players who get stuck — the same way dozens of other publications cover Wordle, Strands, and other daily word games.
The Forbes Connections columns are written by a rotating group of contributors, primarily Kris Holt and Paul Tassi, with Erik Kain covering weekends. Each column follows a consistent structure: the 16 words are listed first, then category-level hints without revealing answers, then one example word per group, then the category names, and finally the full answers. Readers can stop reading at any point depending on how much help they want.
The columns have become a significant traffic driver for Forbes because millions of people play Connections daily and search for help. That is the commercial reality behind daily puzzle hint coverage across all publications — it is not Forbes specifically endorsing or partnering with the NYT. It is a standard editorial and SEO practice for driving daily return visitors.
How NYT Connections Works
For anyone new to the game, here is the complete picture.
The NYT presents you with a 4×4 grid containing 16 words, phrases, or sometimes numbers and symbols. Your job is to identify four groups of four items that share a common theme. You do not know the category names upfront — figuring those out is part of the puzzle.
Groups are color-coded by difficulty. Yellow is the easiest and typically involves a straightforward shared category. Green is slightly trickier. Blue is harder. Purple is the most difficult and often involves wordplay, obscure references, or deliberately misleading connections.
You submit a guess by selecting four words and tapping Submit. If all four belong to the same group, the row lights up in that group’s color and is removed from the board. If your guess is wrong, you lose one of your three allowed mistakes. If the game detects you are “one away” from a correct group, it tells you — but does not say which word is wrong.
The game’s difficulty comes from deliberate misdirection. Words are chosen to suggest multiple possible groupings. A word might look like it belongs with three obvious companions, but actually belongs to a completely different, non-obvious category. This is by design. The NYT puzzle team is very good at it.
Tips For Solving Without Hints
Start with Yellow. The easiest category is usually identifiable without deep knowledge. Look for obvious synonym groups, simple category memberships, or clear shared properties.
Be suspicious of obvious groups. The NYT puzzle team frequently places words that seem obviously related to bait you into a wrong guess. Four words about weather, four words about cooking — if it seems too easy, check whether each word might fit a less obvious theme.
Look for wordplay in Purple. The hardest category almost always involves something beyond literal meaning. Words that can all follow a specific word, words that can all precede another word, homophones, abbreviations, or names hidden inside other words are all common Purple tricks.
Use the “one away” signal strategically. If the game tells you you’re one away, stop and think about which word in your group of four might belong elsewhere before guessing again.
Work backward. Sometimes identifying the hardest group first is easier than it sounds, because once you know what tricky category the puzzle is built around, the easier groups reveal themselves.
Today’s Answers: July 14, 2026 — Puzzle #1129
⚠️ SPOILER WARNING — Full answers below. Stop scrolling if you want to solve the puzzle yourself first.
🟡 Yellow Group — CONTRACT Words: AGREEMENT, BARGAIN, DEAL, UNDERSTANDING The theme: synonyms for a formal agreement or contract. Relatively straightforward — all four words can mean a binding arrangement between parties.
🟢 Green Group — EDIT MENU OPTIONS Words: COPY, CUT, DELETE, PASTE The theme: standard commands found in the Edit menu of any word processor, browser, or application. The misdirection here is that CUT, COPY, and PASTE also have obvious non-computing meanings, which could pull solvers toward other groupings.
🔵 Blue Group — KINDS OF BASKETS Words: EASTER, GROCERY, LAUNDRY, PICNIC The theme: types of baskets defined by their purpose or occasion. Easter basket, grocery basket, laundry basket, picnic basket — all common compound nouns using “basket.”
🟣 Purple Group — SYMBOLISED WITH ARROWS Words: RECYCLING, SHUFFLE, THIS SIDE UP, U-TURN The theme: concepts or instructions commonly depicted using arrow symbols. The recycling symbol uses three arrows in a triangle. Shuffle uses crossing arrows. “This side up” uses an upward arrow. A U-turn uses a curved arrow. This is the kind of abstract, visual-thinking category that makes Purple legitimately difficult.
Recent Forbes Connections Coverage
Forbes has published daily Connections columns throughout 2026. Some recent puzzles and their themes for context:
July 11 — Circus Equipment (CANNON, STILTS, TRAPEZE, UNICYCLE), Undisturbed as Water (CALM, FLAT, GLASSY, STILL), Toy Story Characters, and a fourth group.
July 8 — A puzzle where DRIFT, PLANE, WAX, and PLOT shared a common connection. One of the trickier recent puzzles according to columnist Kris Holt.
July 6 — Featured REVELATION as key to the Yellow group, and ROCKET SKATES as a memorable answer.
July 5 — TUNGSTEN appeared as a deliberate red herring designed to suggest a metals category that did not exist.
July 4 — Persist (CONTINUE, LAST, LINGER, STAY), Kinds of Poems (BALLAD, EPIC, ODE, VILLANELLE), and Tropical Drinks among the groups.
July 1 — A movie-themed puzzle where CASABLANCA and FARGO were key identifiers, described as “a fun gimmick” by the columnist.
Where To Find Forbes Connections Hints
Forbes publishes these columns at forbes.com under the bylines of Kris Holt, Paul Tassi, and Erik Kain. Holt covers most weekdays, Tassi covers some weekends and fills in during the week, and Kain handles Sunday editions. Searching “Forbes Connections hints” followed by the day and date will find the relevant column.
The NYT also publishes its own official help and explanation columns. The puzzle itself is playable free at nytimes.com/games/connections without an account.
You may also like How To See Who Shared Your Instagram Post
FAQ
1. What are Forbes Connections hints?
Daily columns published by Forbes contributors providing hints, partial answers, and full solutions for the NYT Connections puzzle. They are not official NYT content — they are independent editorial coverage of the puzzle.
2. Who writes the Forbes Connections columns?
Primarily Kris Holt (most weekdays), Paul Tassi (weekends and fill-in), and Erik Kain (Sundays).
3. Does Forbes make the Connections puzzle?
No. The puzzle is created and published by The New York Times. Forbes covers it the same way publications cover Wordle and other daily puzzles.
4. What are today’s Connections answers for July 14, 2026?
Yellow: CONTRACT (agreement, bargain, deal, understanding). Green: EDIT MENU OPTIONS (copy, cut, delete, paste). Blue: KINDS OF BASKETS (easter, grocery, laundry, picnic). Purple: SYMBOLISED WITH ARROWS (recycling, shuffle, this side up, u-turn).
5. What is the hardest color in Connections?
Purple is always the hardest category. It most frequently involves wordplay, indirect associations, or visual/cultural references rather than straightforward category membership.
6. How many wrong guesses can I make in Connections?
Three. A fourth wrong guess ends the game and reveals all answers.
7. What does “one away” mean in Connections?
It means that in your submitted group of four, exactly three words belong to the same category and one does not. The game tells you this but does not indicate which word is the misfit.
8. Is NYT Connections free?
Yes — the daily puzzle is free to play without an account. The puzzle archive (all past puzzles) requires an NYT Games subscription.
9. Can I replay a past Connections puzzle?
Yes, with an NYT Games subscription. The archive contains every previous puzzle.
10. Why do so many websites publish Connections hints?
The puzzle attracts millions of daily players. Readers who get stuck search for hints. Publishing daily hint columns drives predictable, high-volume search traffic — this is the core editorial and commercial logic behind puzzle coverage across all major publications.
11. What time does the new Connections puzzle go live?
At midnight local time. The puzzle resets each day.
12. Where else can I find Connections hints besides Forbes?
NME, IGN, Polygon, Paste, and many other publications publish daily Connections columns. The NYT’s own website also publishes explanations and analysis.
