Full Breakdown
NYT Connections Puzzle #1,112 (June 27 2026): Themes, Hints, and Solutions
6/27/2026, 11:09:48 PM
Puzzle Overview
On June 27 2026 the New York Times released Connections puzzle #1,112, the daily word-game that asks solvers to identify four groups of four words sharing a common theme. The grid comprised 16 entries, including “CATWALK,” “FOXTROT,” “CREDIT CARD,” “COLLECTION,” “BOARDWALK,” “DESIGNER,” “ENVELOPE,” “CROSSWALK,” “FIREWALK,” “INCOME TAX,” “BILLIARD BALL,” “MODEL,” “SHORT LINE,” “DECANTER,” “WATER WORKS,” and “BARBER POLE.” Players have four attempts to submit groups. The puzzle is organized into four difficulty tiers—Yellow (easiest), Green, Blue, and Purple (toughest).
Category Themes and Solutions
- Yellow (Squares in a popular board game): Boardwalk, Income Tax, Short Line, Water Works – all Monopoly properties.
- Green (Components of a fashion show): Catwalk, Collection, Designer, Model – terms associated with haute couture presentations.
- Blue (Commonly striped items): Barber Pole, Billiard Ball, Credit Card, Crosswalk – each features a distinctive stripe pattern.
- Purple (Words ending in horse-gait terms): Decanter (-canter), Envelope (-lope), Firewalk (-walk), Foxtrot (-trot) – each ends with a word describing a horse’s movement.
Official Hints from The New York Times
The Times supplied concise clues for each tier:
- Yellow: “Do not pass Go.”
- Green: “Think Vogue.”
- Blue: “Straight lines.”
- Purple: “Neigh!”
These hints directly pointed to the underlying themes without revealing specific entries. The puzzle’s difficulty tiers are color-coded, with Yellow labeled as the easiest and Purple as the toughest, reflecting the increasing abstraction of the themes.
Solving Strategies and Common Tropes
Guidance from a supplemental guide emphasized several recurring tactics. Solvers were advised to watch for homophones (e.g., “Where/Wear”), words embedded within other words, letter-removal constructions, and compound phrases that precede or follow a common term. The guide noted that the Purple tier often relies on nomenclature rather than semantic meaning, making it the most challenging. Additionally, the New York Times operates a Connections Bot that assigns a numeric score after each attempt and tracks metrics such as total puzzles completed, win rate, perfect-score count, and current win streak.
Patterns Suggested for Future Puzzles
A separate analysis listed thematic ideas that may recur in upcoming puzzles:
1. “Things that can run” – candidate, faucet, mascara, nose.
2. “Power ___” – nap, plant, Ranger, trip.
3. “Streets on screen” – Elm, Fear, Jump, Sesame.
4. “One in a dozen” – egg, juror, month, rose.
5. “Things you can set” – mood, record, table, volleyball.
These categories illustrate the puzzle’s propensity for word-play that spans everyday objects, idioms, and pop-culture references.
Reception and Difficulty Rating
Early tester feedback assigned the puzzle a 2.5-out-of-5 score, categorizing it as medium difficulty. The rating reflects the balance between straightforward Yellow and Green groups and the more abstract Purple group, which required deeper linguistic analysis.
