The Saturday edition of NYT Connections arrives with puzzle #1147, serving up a grid that rewards comfort at home, film knowledge, workshop vocabulary, and a sharp eye for hidden word openings.
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 #1147:
WALTZ | LOAFER | SHAM | BORE
REAM | BOULEVARD | SHEET | BALE
THROW | BUNDLE | JORDAN | ROLLS-ROYCE
PHOENIX | DRILL | COMFORTER | COUNTERSINK
A seemingly random collection that somehow connects into four perfect categories.
Strategic Hints (No Spoilers Yet)
Yellow Category Nudge: Think about the soft layers and decorative pieces used to dress a bed.
Green Category Clue: Read several entries as surnames, then picture a major awards ceremony.
Blue Category Hint: Head to a machine shop and focus on different ways a round opening can be made or finished.
Purple Category Teaser: Inspect the beginnings of the remaining entries for familiar bakery shapes hiding inside longer words.
The Full Solutions
Last chance to solve independently: answers below
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Yellow (Bedding): COMFORTER, SHAM, SHEET, THROW
COMFORTER, SHAM, SHEET, and THROW are all BEDDING, covering the practical and decorative layers found on a made bed.
LOAFER creates a mild comfort-themed distraction, but it belongs to the word-opening construction rather than the bedroom set.
Green (Oscar-Winning Actors Since 2010): BALE, JORDAN, PHOENIX, WALTZ
BALE, JORDAN, PHOENIX, and WALTZ are surnames of OSCAR-WINNING ACTORS SINCE 2010.
BALE also pulls toward BUNDLE because both can describe compact collections, which makes that pair a convincing red herring until the surname pattern emerges.
Blue (Perform Some Hole Machining Operations): BORE, COUNTERSINK, DRILL, REAM
BORE, COUNTERSINK, DRILL, and REAM all PERFORM SOME HOLE MACHINING OPERATIONS, covering the creation, shaping, widening, or finishing of holes.
BORE and DRILL announce the workshop theme quickly, while COUNTERSINK and REAM confirm that the category concerns distinct machining operations rather than general tool use.
Purple (Starting With Bread Shapes): BOULEVARD, BUNDLE, LOAFER, ROLLS-ROYCE
BOULEVARD, BUNDLE, LOAFER, and ROLLS-ROYCE are STARTING WITH BREAD SHAPES: BOULE opens BOULEVARD, BUN opens BUNDLE, LOAF opens LOAFER, and ROLL opens ROLLS-ROYCE.
The trick works through exact opening fragments, so the longer words do not need to share any meaning beyond those bread-shaped beginnings.
The Verdict
The bedding group should fall first, with COMFORTER, SHAM, SHEET, and THROW forming the grid's most concrete set.
The real trap sits between BALE and BUNDLE, whose shared sense of a compact collection can delay recognition of the actor surnames.
The purple group is the streak-decider because spotting BOULE, BUN, LOAF, and ROLL at the starts of longer entries requires a clean shift from meaning to spelling.
Reset and Repeat
Tomorrow brings a fresh grid and another chance to reset your pattern radar. Today's standout lesson is to inspect the front of a stubborn word, since a hidden bread shape can matter more than the whole entry.
For now, puzzle #1147 is solved. See you at midnight for the next round.
