The Sunday edition of NYT Connections arrives with puzzle #1022, serving up a grid that rewards linguistic awareness and pop culture knowledge. Today's challenge particularly favors those who can spot silent letters and remember retro dance trends.
What Makes Connections Tick
For newcomers, NYT Connections presents 16 words that must be sorted into four thematic groups of four.
The twist?
You're limited to four mistakes, and the color-coded difficulty system (yellow being easiest, purple being trickiest) means surface-level connections often mislead.
Since its June 2023 launch, Connections has carved out its niche in the Times' puzzle ecosystem, standing alongside Wordle and the crossword as a daily ritual for millions of players worldwide.
The game's genius lies in its red herrings, words that could fit multiple categories but belong in only one.
Today's Grid at a Glance
Here are the 16 words staring back at you in puzzle #1022:
GRAFFITI | RECEIPT | STRETCH | HUSTLE
PSYCHO | ROBOT | BEAUTY | STENCIL
POSTER | CORPS | TWIST | QUESTION
CHECK | MASHED POTATO | MURAL | COUP
A seemingly random collection that somehow connects into four perfect categories.
Strategic Hints (No Spoilers Yet)
Yellow Category Nudge: Look for visual elements you might encounter while walking through an urban environment.
Green Category Clue: Think about dance moves that had their moment in the spotlight decades ago.
Blue Category Hint: These words share a particular linguistic feature that isn't pronounced.
Purple Category Teaser: Each of these words can be paired with the same two-letter word to form common phrases.
The Full Solutions
Last chance to solve independently: answers below
---
---
---
---
---
Yellow (Images Seen on the Street): GRAFFITI, MURAL, POSTER, STENCIL
These four words represent visual elements commonly found in public urban spaces.
GRAFFITI and MURAL are both forms of street art, while POSTER and STENCIL are methods for creating public displays or messages.
Green (Retro Dance Crazes): HUSTLE, MASHED POTATO, ROBOT, TWIST
Each of these terms refers to a specific dance style or move that gained popularity in different eras.
The HUSTLE was a disco-era dance, MASHED POTATO was a 1960s dance craze, ROBOT dancing emerged with funk music, and the TWIST was a rock and roll dance phenomenon.
Blue (Silent "P"): CORPS, COUP, PSYCHO, RECEIPT
This category connects words that contain a silent letter "P" in their spelling.
CORPS (pronounced "core"), COUP (pronounced "koo"), PSYCHO (pronounced "sigh-ko"), and RECEIPT (pronounced "re-seet") all feature a "P" that isn't pronounced in standard American English.
Purple (___ Mark): BEAUTY, CHECK, QUESTION, STRETCH
These words all form common phrases when combined with "MARK."
BEAUTY MARK refers to a mole considered attractive, CHECK MARK indicates verification, QUESTION MARK is the punctuation symbol, and STRETCH MARK describes skin lines from rapid growth or pregnancy.
The Verdict
Puzzle #1022 registers as moderate difficulty with a clever linguistic twist.
Yellow falls quickly for anyone who recognizes urban visual elements, while green requires thinking about dance history.
Blue separates the language enthusiasts from casual solvers.
Purple, predictably, is the streak-ender, that "MARK" connection won't reveal itself without serious lateral thinking.
The real trap lies in words like PSYCHO and ROBOT, which could easily mislead solvers toward psychological or mechanical categories.
Similarly, CHECK and QUESTION might tempt players toward banking or interrogation themes before the "MARK" connection emerges.
Reset and Repeat
Tomorrow's puzzle drops at midnight in your timezone.
Until then, reflect on today's performance: did you spot the silent "P"s or get tripped up by the dance crazes?
The beauty lies not in perfection but in training your brain to spot these hidden patterns.
For now, puzzle #1022 is solved.
See you at midnight for round #1023.
