The Monday edition of NYT Connections arrives with puzzle #1156, serving up a grid that rewards an ear for unruly phrasing, familiarity with routine transactions, and an eye for distinctive facial hair.
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 #1156:
BILLY GOAT | BALANCE DUE | WILLY-NILLY | MAIL DELIVERY
BILL TO | HELTER-SKELTER | WILL CALL | THE DEVIL
DOCTOR STRANGE | ORDER NUMBER | ANY OLD HOW | MOBILE TICKET
UNIT PRICE | COLONEL SANDERS | PRINT-AT-HOME | AT RANDOM
A seemingly random collection that somehow connects into four perfect categories.
Strategic Hints (No Spoilers Yet)
Yellow Category Nudge: Look for four expressions describing something done without a plan or orderly method.
Green Category Clue: Think about the final handoff that follows the purchase of admission to a live occasion.
Blue Category Hint: Picture the labeled fields on a document requesting payment.
Purple Category Teaser: Focus below the lower lip, where four recognizable figures share a sharply defined feature.
The Full Solutions
Last chance to solve independently: answers below
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Yellow (Haphazardly): ANY OLD HOW, AT RANDOM, HELTER-SKELTER, WILLY-NILLY
ANY OLD HOW, AT RANDOM, HELTER-SKELTER, and WILLY-NILLY all mean HAPHAZARDLY, describing action without deliberate order or planning.
WILLY-NILLY creates a tidy sound-based distraction beside WILL CALL, while PRINT-AT-HOME echoes the conspicuous hyphenation elsewhere in the grid.
Green (Ways To Receive Event Tickets): MAIL DELIVERY, MOBILE TICKET, PRINT-AT-HOME, WILL CALL
MAIL DELIVERY, MOBILE TICKET, PRINT-AT-HOME, and WILL CALL are WAYS TO RECEIVE EVENT TICKETS, covering physical shipment, digital access, home printing, and venue pickup.
WILL CALL can drift toward BILL TO because their opening words rhyme and both resemble compact administrative labels.
Blue (Sections On An Invoice): BALANCE DUE, BILL TO, ORDER NUMBER, UNIT PRICE
BALANCE DUE, BILL TO, ORDER NUMBER, and UNIT PRICE are SECTIONS ON AN INVOICE, identifying the amount owed, recipient, purchase reference, and per-item cost.
ORDER NUMBER carries a faint conceptual pull toward AT RANDOM, since one suggests organization while the other explicitly rejects it.
Purple (Famous Goatees): BILLY GOAT, COLONEL SANDERS, DOCTOR STRANGE, THE DEVIL
BILLY GOAT, COLONEL SANDERS, DOCTOR STRANGE, and THE DEVIL form FAMOUS GOATEES. The goat supplies the literal chin beard, while the other three are recognizable figures commonly depicted with pointed facial hair.
The Verdict
The yellow set falls first because all four entries function as direct expressions for disorderly action.
The real trap sits between the two transactional sets, with WILL CALL and BILL TO sounding alike while MAIL DELIVERY, MOBILE TICKET, and PRINT-AT-HOME also resemble labels from routine paperwork.
Purple is the streak-deciding group because its link depends on seeing one visual trait across an animal, two named characters, and a familiar supernatural figure.
Reset and Repeat
The standout move is that final chin-beard lineup, a visual connection hiding inside a grid dominated by phrases and paperwork. Reset tomorrow and look again for the detail that changes how four otherwise unrelated entries appear.
For now, puzzle #1156 is solved. See you at midnight for the next round.
