The Sunday edition of NYT Connections arrives with puzzle #1134, serving up a grid that rewards comfort with electronics, device setup, household plumbing, and familiar expressions.
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 #1134:
SWITCH | SWIRL | LONG | GAME
POKER | PAIR | FLUSH | STRAIGHT
RELAY | SYNC | DRAIN | FUSE
CONNECT | BREAKER | REFILL | JOIN
A seemingly random collection that somehow connects into four perfect categories.
Strategic Hints (No Spoilers Yet)
Yellow Category Nudge: Think about the small pieces that manage and protect the flow of electricity.
Green Category Clue: Picture the commands used when two devices, accounts, or accessories need to work together.
Blue Category Hint: Focus on the sequence of actions performed by a familiar bathroom fixture.
Purple Category Teaser: Each entry can come directly before the same body part to form a familiar expression.
The Full Solutions
Last chance to solve independently: answers below
---
---
---
---
---
Yellow (Circuit Components): BREAKER, FUSE, RELAY, SWITCH
BREAKER, FUSE, RELAY, and SWITCH are all circuit components that control, protect, or redirect electrical current.
SWITCH also sounds like a digital action, while CONNECT and SYNC strengthen the grid's broader technology red herring.
Green (Digital Coupling Verbs): CONNECT, JOIN, PAIR, SYNC
CONNECT, JOIN, PAIR, and SYNC are verbs used for digitally coupling devices, services, or data.
CONNECT can describe an electrical circuit, which makes it a credible decoy beside the actual hardware terms.
Blue (Things Toilets Do): DRAIN, FLUSH, REFILL, SWIRL
DRAIN, FLUSH, REFILL, and SWIRL are all things toilets do during or around a flush cycle.
FLUSH is the sharpest red herring because POKER and STRAIGHT also point toward card play, but those two belong to the wordplay group.
Purple (___ Face Expressions): GAME, LONG, POKER, STRAIGHT
GAME, LONG, POKER, and STRAIGHT each precede FACE, producing game face, long face, poker face, and straight face.
The trick works because the four resulting phrases describe distinct expressions or outward looks rather than sharing one literal emotion.
The Verdict
The circuit components should fall first because BREAKER, FUSE, RELAY, and SWITCH form the most concrete set.
The real trap lives around FLUSH, POKER, and STRAIGHT, which can tempt a card-game grouping that never reaches four.
The face-expression group decides the streak, since spotting GAME FACE and LONG FACE is what breaks the card-game illusion.
Reset and Repeat
Today's best trick turns a nearly convincing card-game cluster into four different FACE expressions. Reset the grid tomorrow and look for the shared word hiding just beyond the tiles.
For now, puzzle #1134 is solved. See you at midnight for the next round.
