Today's NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for July 17, #1132

Why You Can Trust CNET Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Reviews ethics statement Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for July 17, No. 1,132. CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line. Expertise Breaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, and generational studies CredentialsCo-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year"​ award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism. Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today's Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles. Today's NYT Connections puzzle is extra creative, I thought. I especially liked the green and blue categories. Read on for clues and today's Connections answers. The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak. Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time Hints for today's Connections groups Here are four hints for the groupings in today's Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group. Yellow group hint: So long, farewell.Green group hint: Where you might play Pac-Man.Blue group hint: The Beatles could've been included here.Purple group hint: Get your motor running. Answers for today's Connections groups Yellow group: Grand finale.Green group: Seen in an arcade.Blue group: Four groups of four.Purple group: Ending in parts of a car.Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words What are today's Connections answers? The completed NYT Connections puzzle for July 17, 2026. NYT/Screenshot by CNET The yellow words in today's Connections The theme is grand finale. The four answers are epilogue, farewell, last dance and swan song. The green words in today's Connections The theme is seen in an arcade. The four answers are crane game, pinball, tickets and tokens. The blue words in today's Connections The theme is four groups of four. The four answers are cardinal directions, classical elements, seasons and suits. The purple words in today's Connections The theme is ending in parts of a car. The four answers are plot spoiler, Robin Hood, satires and tree trunk. CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line. See full bio