Anyone searching for the Mashable Connections hint today is probably facing a familiar problem: several words look related, but every promising group seems to contain one suspicious tile. That uncertainty is exactly what makes the New York Times’ Connections puzzle so entertaining—and occasionally frustrating.
Today’s regular Connections puzzle is game #1135, dated Monday, July 20, 2026. The grid mixes computer-interface terms, words connected with pearls, announcement verbs, and a particularly clever set built around hidden drink names.
The hints below begin gently before revealing the category names and complete answers. If you only need a small nudge, stop before reaching the spoiler section.
Today’s Connections Words
The 16 words in today’s grid are:
- OYSTER
- MEADOW
- WISDOM
- SOUND
- BUTTON
- BUBBLE TEA
- PORTOBELLO
- MENU
- TRUMPET
- ICON
- HERALD
- SWINE
- SAKES
- BLARE
- LINK
- ALEXA
At first glance, a few apparent relationships stand out. OYSTER and PORTOBELLO may suggest foods or types of mushrooms, while SOUND and TRUMPET seem connected with noise. BUTTON, MENU, ICON, and LINK have an obvious digital flavor.
The challenge is determining which associations are intentional and which have been placed in the grid as distractions.
Mashable Connections Hint Today: Gentle Clues for Every Group
These clues point toward the four themes without giving away their exact category titles:
- Yellow: Think about making something publicly known—and perhaps doing it loudly.
- Green: You encounter all four while navigating a website, app, or computer screen.
- Blue: Each word has a familiar connection to a small, valuable object traditionally found inside a shell.
- Purple: Look at the opening letters of each word rather than its complete meaning. A type of alcoholic drink is hidden at the beginning.
The green group is the most accessible place to begin. Four words clearly describe interactive screen elements, and removing them makes the remaining connections easier to see.
The yellow words can also function as verbs. They all describe ways of announcing or communicating something openly, although some carry a stronger sense of volume or ceremony than others.
Blue requires broader thinking. Its four members are not examples of the same object. Instead, each appears in a familiar phrase, product, or cultural association involving that object.
Purple is the main wordplay category. The four tiles do not share an obvious meaning when read normally. Their connection becomes visible only after splitting each word near the beginning.
Category Names: A Stronger Set of Hints
Still working on the puzzle? Here are the official-style category descriptions:
- Yellow: ANNOUNCE
- Green: THINGS TO CLICK
- Blue: ASSOCIATED WITH PEARLS
- Purple: STARTING WITH ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
This is the final spoiler warning. The complete groups and explanations appear below.
Today’s Connections Answers
Yellow: ANNOUNCE
- BLARE
- HERALD
- SOUND
- TRUMPET
All four can describe publicly communicating or announcing something.
To herald an event is to announce or signal its arrival. A person or organization might trumpet an achievement by promoting it enthusiastically. Alarms sound, while news or warnings may be blared through speakers.
SOUND and TRUMPET are tempting because they also relate directly to music or noise. That overlap can encourage players to search for instruments or audio terms, but HERALD helps clarify the intended idea.
Green: THINGS TO CLICK
- BUTTON
- ICON
- LINK
- MENU
These are standard interactive elements found across websites, software, and mobile applications.
A user might click a BUTTON to submit a form, an ICON to open an application, a LINK to visit another page, or a MENU to see additional options. On a touchscreen, “tap” may be the more accurate action, but “click” remains the familiar general term.
This group is useful to solve early because its members fit together cleanly. Trying to save obvious combinations for later can create unnecessary confusion, especially when only four incorrect guesses are allowed.
Blue: ASSOCIATED WITH PEARLS
- BUBBLE TEA
- OYSTER
- SWINE
- WISDOM
The relationship is wider than jewelry.
An OYSTER is famously associated with natural pearls. BUBBLE TEA commonly contains chewy tapioca balls called pearls. WISDOM appears in the expression “pearls of wisdom,” meaning valuable pieces of advice. SWINE completes the saying about casting pearls before swine, which refers to offering something valuable to someone unlikely to appreciate it.
This category demonstrates one of Connections’ favorite techniques: using the same word in several different contexts. A player looking only for physical pearls might spot OYSTER and BUBBLE TEA but struggle to understand WISDOM and SWINE.
Purple: STARTING WITH ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
- ALEXA
- MEADOW
- PORTOBELLO
- SAKES
Each word begins with the name of an alcoholic beverage:
- ALEXA begins with ALE.
- MEADOW begins with MEAD.
- PORTOBELLO begins with PORT.
- SAKES begins with SAKE.
The remaining letters do not need to form separate words. The category depends only on recognizing the drink name at the start of each tile.
PORTOBELLO is an especially effective distraction because it naturally pairs with food-related words such as OYSTER. Both can describe mushrooms, but that pairing does not provide enough members for a complete four-word group. Purple categories often exploit precisely this kind of convincing but incomplete relationship.
Why Today’s Grid Is Deceptive
The puzzle is not difficult because its vocabulary is unusually obscure. Most of the words are familiar. The difficulty comes from overlapping associations.
OYSTER and PORTOBELLO can both point toward mushrooms. SOUND, BLARE, and TRUMPET all involve noise. BUTTON, LINK, ICON, and MENU may seem almost too obvious, encouraging players to doubt the group. Meanwhile, words such as MEADOW and ALEXA appear ordinary until they are broken into smaller pieces.
The blue category also shifts between literal and figurative uses. OYSTER has a direct natural relationship with pearls, while WISDOM and SWINE depend on established expressions. BUBBLE TEA introduces a modern food meaning. Moving between those contexts is the conceptual leap the category demands.
This mixture of literal definitions, phrases, digital terminology, and embedded words gives the grid its balance. No single solving method works for every group.
A Better Way to Approach Similar Puzzles
When several words appear connected, do not submit them immediately. First ask whether the relationship explains exactly four tiles.
Suppose you notice OYSTER and PORTOBELLO as mushrooms. Search for two additional mushroom names. If none appear, treat that connection as a possible trap. A valid pair is not necessarily part of a valid category.
It also helps to test grammatical consistency. BLARE, HERALD, SOUND, and TRUMPET can all operate as verbs describing announcement. Recognizing that shared role makes the group stronger than a loose theme involving noises.
For difficult purple categories, inspect the construction of the words. Look for hidden terms, altered spellings, missing letters, shared prefixes, shared endings, or words that can follow a common expression. Purple frequently rewards structural analysis rather than ordinary definition matching.
Finally, use the shuffle option when the layout starts influencing your thinking. Seeing the tiles in a different order can break accidental visual pairings and make a genuine four-word set easier to notice.
Connections and the Role of Daily Hint Guides
Connections presents 16 tiles that must be divided into four groups of four. A correct submission removes that group from the board, while an incorrect selection costs one mistake. After four mistakes, the attempt ends.
The categories are displayed in four colors: yellow, green, blue, and purple. These generally move from more direct connections toward less obvious associations and wordplay, though an individual player may find a purple group before a supposedly easier one.
Daily hint guides are most useful when they preserve some of the puzzle’s discovery. A broad clue can redirect a player without revealing the group, while category titles and complete answers offer later levels of help. That is why people searching for a Mashable Connections hint today often want more than a bare solution—they want control over how much of the answer they uncover.
Conclusion
The July 20, 2026 puzzle combines a straightforward digital group with two broad association categories and a smart hidden-word finish. The key breakthroughs are recognizing BUTTON, ICON, LINK, and MENU as clickable elements, then seeing that ALEXA, MEADOW, PORTOBELLO, and SAKES begin with alcoholic beverages.
If the Mashable Connections hint today search brought you here, the complete solution to game #1135 is: ANNOUNCE; THINGS TO CLICK; ASSOCIATED WITH PEARLS; and STARTING WITH ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES. The grid is a good reminder that Connections rarely rewards the first plausible pairing. It rewards the relationship that accounts for exactly four words without leaving contradictions behind.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is today’s Connections puzzle number?
The regular New York Times Connections puzzle for July 20, 2026 is game #1135.
What are the four categories today?
They are ANNOUNCE, THINGS TO CLICK, ASSOCIATED WITH PEARLS, and STARTING WITH ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES.
What is the hardest group in today’s puzzle?
The purple group is likely the trickiest because it requires finding ALE, MEAD, PORT, and SAKE at the beginnings of longer words.
Why does SWINE belong with pearls?
It refers to the expression about casting pearls before swine—giving something valuable to someone who may not appreciate it.
Is Connections Sports Edition the same puzzle?
No. Connections Sports Edition is a separate sports-themed game with its own puzzle number, words, categories, and answers.
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