The Sunday edition of NYT Connections arrives with puzzle #1239, serving up a grid that rewards precise vocabulary, a little sentiment, and an eye for altered spellings. Familiar meanings offer a foothold, but the trickiest entries need a different lens.
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 #1239:
HEAD | TRIPPING | CANINE | LOVER
DOGGY | SELF | MATURATED | PUPPY
HOUND | INCISOR | BROTHERLY | BICUSPID
UNREQUITED | TRENCHED | MOLAR | FIEND
A seemingly random collection that somehow connects into four perfect categories.
Strategic Hints (No Spoilers Yet)
Yellow Category Nudge: Think about vocabulary you might hear during a routine checkup.
Green Category Clue: Consider how a feeling can take different forms.
Blue Category Hint: Think about how you might describe someone with a strong interest.
Purple Category Teaser: Try a small spelling adjustment before searching for a shared meaning.
The Full Solutions
Last chance to solve independently: answers below
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Yellow (Kinds Of Teeth): BICUSPID, CANINE, INCISOR, MOLAR
BICUSPID, CANINE, INCISOR, and MOLAR are all kinds of teeth. The dental meaning of CANINE supplies the connection.
CANINE also points toward dogs, making PUPPY, HOUND, and DOGGY a tempting distraction. That apparent animal set pulls words from all four answer groups.
Green (Kinds Of Love): BROTHERLY, PUPPY, SELF, UNREQUITED
BROTHERLY, PUPPY, SELF, and UNREQUITED each pair with LOVE. The resulting phrases cover affection between brothers, youthful infatuation, regard for oneself, and affection that is not returned.
LOVER fits the emotional territory, but it does not follow the same phrase-building pattern. Keeping the relationship between the words consistent helps separate it from this group.
Blue (Enthusiast): FIEND, HEAD, HOUND, LOVER
FIEND, HEAD, HOUND, and LOVER can each describe a devoted enthusiast. Think of a coffee fiend, a gearhead, a news hound, or a music lover, where the surrounding language makes the interest clear.
Purple (Synonyms For "Soaked" With First Letter Changed): DOGGY, MATURATED, TRENCHED, TRIPPING
Change only the first letter of each entry: DOGGY becomes SOGGY, MATURATED becomes SATURATED, TRENCHED becomes DRENCHED, and TRIPPING becomes DRIPPING. The restored words all convey being soaked.
The Verdict
Yellow offers the clearest starting point once CANINE is read in its dental sense. Green provides another firm foothold because its entries all work with the same following word.
The strongest trap is the apparent dog connection linking CANINE, PUPPY, HOUND, and DOGGY. Blue adds a subtler snag by giving LOVER a role outside the feelings-based group.
Purple is the streak-testing finish: the shared meaning appears only after the initial letters change. Recognizing that operation makes an awkward-looking collection click into place.
Reset and Repeat
Today's useful takeaway is to test a small spelling change when literal meanings stop helping. Come back tomorrow for a fresh grid, with that first-letter trick tucked into your solving toolkit.
For now, puzzle #1239 is solved. See you at midnight for the next round.