The Thursday edition of NYT Connections arrives with puzzle #1236, serving up a grid that rewards everyday observation, a little wildlife knowledge, and an eye for lettering. The strongest connections emerge when you stop treating every entry as a physical object.
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 #1236:
TUXEDO | TRAFFIC LIGHT | ROMAN | EMPEROR
PARKING METER | CANDY CORN | NEAPOLITAN | PIGGY BANK
TYPEWRITER | WISHING WELL | GOTHIC | ANTARCTICA
CALICO | WADDLE | SANS | PAYPHONE
A seemingly random collection that somehow connects into four perfect categories.
Strategic Hints (No Spoilers Yet)
Yellow Category Nudge: Think about the different purposes small change can serve.
Green Category Clue: Bring your wildlife knowledge, but leave room for a visual joke.
Blue Category Hint: Think about how printed words look, beyond what they mean.
Purple Category Teaser: Appearances can connect things that have entirely different uses.
The Full Solutions
Last chance to solve independently: answers below
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Yellow (Things You Put Coins Into): PARKING METER, PAYPHONE, PIGGY BANK, WISHING WELL
PARKING METER, PAYPHONE, PIGGY BANK, and WISHING WELL all receive coins. The shared action connects payment, saving, and wish-making.
PAYPHONE and TYPEWRITER invite a detour into older technology. That resemblance gives you a pair, but the coin connection supplies a complete group.
Green (Associated With Penguins): ANTARCTICA, EMPEROR, TUXEDO, WADDLE
ANTARCTICA supplies a habitat, EMPEROR names a penguin species, TUXEDO evokes the birds' contrasting plumage, and WADDLE describes their characteristic walk. This group mixes geography, naming, appearance, and movement around one animal.
ROMAN and EMPEROR make an especially tempting pair because they form a familiar historical phrase. EMPEROR needs its animal meaning here, which breaks that pairing.
Blue (Ends Of Famous Fonts): GOTHIC, ROMAN, SANS, TYPEWRITER
Each entry finishes a familiar font name: Century GOTHIC, Times New ROMAN, Comic SANS, and American TYPEWRITER. The trick is to supply the missing beginning rather than connect the standalone meanings.
Purple (Things That Feature Three Colors): CALICO, CANDY CORN, NEAPOLITAN, TRAFFIC LIGHT
CALICO, CANDY CORN, NEAPOLITAN, and TRAFFIC LIGHT share a three-color pattern. Their different roles conceal a straightforward visual connection.
A calico coat typically combines white, black, and orange, while standard candy corn uses white, orange, and yellow. Neapolitan ice cream supplies brown, white, and pink through chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry, and a standard traffic light supplies red, yellow, and green.
The Verdict
Yellow offers the clearest opening because the coin action stays consistent across all four entries. Green asks for a broader association, with ROMAN and EMPEROR providing the sharpest distraction.
Blue is the streak-deciding group here: recognizing complete font names requires a different reading of the entries. Purple feels more approachable once you picture the objects, especially CANDY CORN beside NEAPOLITAN.
Reset and Repeat
Take today's font trick into tomorrow's grid: a word can be the tail of a name as easily as an object or an idea. Come back for another fresh set of connections and another reason to change your reading.
For now, puzzle #1236 is solved. See you at midnight for the next round.