The Sunday edition of NYT Connections arrives with puzzle #1148, serving up a grid that rewards an ear for conversational habits, a feel for compact prepositions, and a sharp eye for hidden travel shorthand.
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 #1148:
LIKE | AIRPLANE | VIA | FLAX
À LA | SO | BY | DARK
PER | LORD | WELL | ASEA
THROUGH | BEAST | OLGA | ACTUALLY
A seemingly random collection that somehow connects into four perfect categories.
Strategic Hints (No Spoilers Yet)
Yellow Category Nudge: Listen for little verbal cushions that often appear while someone gathers their thoughts.
Green Category Clue: Think about short terms that can describe the route, method, or channel used to accomplish something.
Blue Category Hint: Look for four very different settings, states, or styles that can precede the same noun.
Purple Category Teaser: Remove the opening letter from each suspiciously compact entry, then read what remains as travel shorthand.
The Full Solutions
Last chance to solve independently: answers below
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Yellow (Filler Words): ACTUALLY, LIKE, SO, WELL
ACTUALLY, LIKE, SO, and WELL are FILLER WORDS, familiar conversational devices that can hold the floor, soften a statement, or introduce a thought.
LIKE is the strongest distraction because it also carries a clear comparison meaning, while SO can look more functional than conversational.
Green (By Means Of): BY, PER, THROUGH, VIA
BY, PER, THROUGH, and VIA all express BY MEANS OF, identifying a method, route, or intermediary.
BY and PER initially resemble rate or distribution language, while VIA and THROUGH make the shared sense easier to recognize.
Blue (___ Mode): AIRPLANE, BEAST, DARK, À LA
AIRPLANE, BEAST, DARK, and À LA each precede MODE, producing AIRPLANE MODE, BEAST MODE, DARK MODE, and À LA MODE.
AIRPLANE is the deliberate red herring here, since it points directly toward aviation while the purple group hides airport codes.
Purple (U.S. Airport Codes Plus Starting Letter): ASEA, FLAX, LORD, OLGA
ASEA, FLAX, LORD, and OLGA are U.S. AIRPORT CODES PLUS A STARTING LETTER. Removing the first letter yields SEA, LAX, ORD, and LGA.
Those codes correspond to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, Chicago O'Hare International Airport, and LaGuardia Airport, respectively.
The Verdict
The filler words should fall first because ACTUALLY, LIKE, SO, and WELL share an immediately recognizable conversational rhythm.
The real trap sits between AIRPLANE and the airport-code construction, with AIRPLANE loudly advertising the very travel theme it does not join.
Purple is the streak-decider because ASEA, FLAX, LORD, and OLGA look like ordinary words or names until their first letters are stripped away.
Reset and Repeat
The airport-code extraction is today's standout trick, turning four unassuming entries into a clean final reveal. Reset the grid instincts and come back tomorrow for another round.
For now, puzzle #1148 is solved. See you at midnight for the next round.
