NYT Connections hints and answers for Monday, August 10 (game #1156)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Sunday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Sunday, August 9 (game #1155).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #1156) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• 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

NYT Connections today (game #1156) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: All over the place
• GREEN: Methods of concert entry
• BLUE: Parts of a request for payment sheet
• PURPLE: Notable small beard owners

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #1156) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: HAPHAZARDLY
• GREEN: WAYS TO RECEIVE EVENT TICKETS
• BLUE: SECTIONS ON AN INVOICE
• PURPLE: FAMOUS GOATEES

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #1156) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #1156, are…

• YELLOW: HAPHAZARDLY: ANY OLD HOW, AT RANDOM, HELTER-SKELTER, WILLY-NILLY
• GREEN: WAYS TO RECEIVE EVENT TICKETS: MAIL DELIVERY, MOBILE TICKET, PRINT-AT-HOME, WILL CALL
• BLUE: SECTIONS ON AN INVOICE: BALANCE DUE, BILL TO, ORDER NUMBER, UNIT PRICE
• PURPLE: FAMOUS GOATEES: BILLY GOAT, COLONEL SANDERS, DOCTOR STRANGE, THE DEVIL

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 mistake

The key to my “purple first” success today was saying aloud to myself “not by the hair on my chinny chin-chin”. This in turn made me think of Colonel Saunders and his resplendent white goatee and although I have never seen Doctor Strange I was pretty sure I’d seen a poster of Benedict Cumberbatch sporting some hair on his chinny chin chin.

The other groups I found much harder and I made a mistake assembling the green group.

I knew that the thread was something to do with buying tickets, but didn’t understand WILL CALL, so selected ORDER NUMBER.

In the process, I remembered a recent concert I went to where the only entry was via MOBILE TICKET, but my phone battery was at 1%; I made it in just as the screen died.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Sunday, August 9, 2026, game #1155)

• YELLOW: TAKE A DIFFERENT APPROACH: CHANGE TACK, COURSE-CORRECT, RECALIBRATE, SHIFT GEARS
• GREEN: CLASSIC CHILDREN'S BOOKS: CAPS FOR SALE, CORDUROY, GOODNIGHT MOON, MADELINE
• BLUE: MOVIE SUBGENRES: BUDDY COP, NEO-NOIR, SPACE OPERA, SPAGHETTI WESTERN
• PURPLE: THINGS PEOPLE TRY TO GET OUT OF: BAD DREAM, ESCAPE ROOM, JURY DUTY, LABYRINTH

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

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NYT Strands hints and answers for Monday, August 10 (game #890)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Sunday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Sunday, August 9 (game #889).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #890) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Back it up

NYT Strands today (game #890) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• FAST
• CURE
• STARE
• FIST
• TROOP
• STIFF

NYT Strands today (game #890) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 13 letters

NYT Strands today (game #890) - hint #4 - spangram position

What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

• First side: top, 3rd column

• Last side: bottom, 4th column

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #890) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #890, are…

• DATA
• FACTS
• FIGURES
• STATISTICS
• SPECIFICS
• SPANGRAM: PROOFPOSITIVE

• My rating: Moderate
• My score: Perfect

I spotted “positive”, “proof” and “specific” as non-game words before seeing them as the spangram and adding an S to get to the SPECIFICS.

This, then, was a game of feeling around in the dark before gradually completing the board, rather than a smashing through — or maybe I was slower just because it’s a Monday?

Either way, it was a pleasure to complete a game celebrating the bedrock of good journalism, as opposed to the opinion and bluster that makes up most of the media landscape.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Sunday, August 9, game #889)

• LUXURY
• EXTRAVAGANCE
• TREAT
• INDULGENCE
• FRILLS
• SPANGRAM: IMWORTHIT

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

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NYT Connections hints and answers for Sunday, August 9 (game #1155)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Saturday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Saturday, August 8 (game #1154).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #1155) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• SHIFT GEARS
• JURY DUTY
• SPACE OPERA
• LABYRINTH
• CAPS FOR SALE
• ESCAPE ROOM
• NEO-NOIR
• COURSE-CORRECT
• BAD DREAM
• BUDDY COP
• CORDUROY
• CHANGE TACK
• MADELINE
• RECALIBRATE
• SPAGHETTI WESTERN
• GOODNIGHT MOON

NYT Connections today (game #1155) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: Take a new path
• GREEN: Bedtime stories
• BLUE: Types of fims
• PURPLE: In need of an exit strategy

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #1155) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: TAKE A DIFFERENT APPROACH
• GREEN: CLASSIC CHILDREN'S BOOKS
• BLUE: MOVIE SUBGENRES
• PURPLE: THINGS PEOPLE TRY TO GET OUT OF

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #1155) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #1155, are…

• YELLOW: TAKE A DIFFERENT APPROACH: CHANGE TACK, COURSE-CORRECT, RECALIBRATE, SHIFT GEARS
• GREEN: CLASSIC CHILDREN'S BOOKS: CAPS FOR SALE, CORDUROY, GOODNIGHT MOON, MADELINE
• BLUE: MOVIE SUBGENRES: BUDDY COP, NEO-NOIR, SPACE OPERA, SPAGHETTI WESTERN
• PURPLE: THINGS PEOPLE TRY TO GET OUT OF: BAD DREAM, ESCAPE ROOM, JURY DUTY, LABYRINTH

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

Everyone’s knows that GOODNIGHT MOON is one of a handful of CLASSIC CHILDREN’S BOOKS (the “bowl full of mush” always puzzled me) and I was sure MADELINE was too, but I couldn’t see any others — so decided to put this possible group to one side. In fact, you could say I decided to TAKE A DIFFERENT APPROACH.

After landing the yellow group I decided that SPACE OPERA and SPAGHETTI WESTERN belonged together and guessed that NEO-NOIR and BUDDY COP could also be labeled as MOVIE SUBGENRES.

With eight tiles left the titles of children’s books were not popping out for me, so I took a risk connecting things that sounded like you could get trapped in and added JURY DUTY as a random fourth tile.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Saturday, August 8, 2026, game #1154)

• YELLOW: QUAINT EXPRESSIONS OF EXCITEMENT: HOT DOG, HURRAH, WHOOPEE, YAHOO
• GREEN: CONVEY: COUCH, EXPRESS, FRAME, PHRASE
• BLUE: WORDS ABBREVIATED WITH LETTERS AS HOMOPHONES: CUTIE, EASY, EFFECTS, I OWE YOU
• PURPLE: SAFETY _____: BELT, GOGGLES, PIN, RAZOR

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

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NYT Strands hints and answers for Sunday, August 9 (game #889)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Saturday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Saturday, August 8 (game #888).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #889) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Isn’t that a bit much

NYT Strands today (game #889) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• RANG
• WRATH
• FRIED
• RULER
• FLIRTED
• THERE

NYT Strands today (game #889) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 9 letters

NYT Strands today (game #889) - hint #4 - spangram position

What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

• First side: left, 1st row

• Last side: right, 4th row

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #889) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #889, are…

• LUXURY
• EXTRAVAGANCE
• TREAT
• INDULGENCE
• FRILLS
• SPANGRAM: IMWORTHIT

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 hint

It was hard to ignore the two Xs on the board, so that’s where I began first — spying LUXURY and then EXTRAVAGANCE, although I did manage to start the latter with the wrong letter E, quite a drag for a 12-letter word.

After this burst I ground to a halt and busied myself with finding some interesting non-game words. A hint gave me TREAT, but I had to spend a good couple of minutes staring at these five letters before I connected them in the right order.

After all this, I think I’m going to pamper myself with a scoop of vegan ice cream.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Saturday, August 8, game #888)

• TRACK
• DROP
• LOOP
• CUTBACK
• TUNNEL
• CORKSCREW
• SPANGRAM: ROLLERCOASTER

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

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NYT Strands hints and answers for Saturday, August 8 (game #888)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Friday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Friday, August 7 (game #887).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #888) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… It has its ups and downs

NYT Strands today (game #888) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• NECK
• SORT
• COUNT
• CREW
• PULP
• CAPTURE

NYT Strands today (game #888) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 13 letters

NYT Strands today (game #888) - hint #4 - spangram position

What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

• First side: right, 6th row

• Last side: left, 6th row

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #888) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #888, are…

• TRACK
• DROP
• LOOP
• CUTBACK
• TUNNEL
• CORKSCREW
• SPANGRAM: ROLLERCOASTER

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

After a Strands yesterday that made no sense it was a relief to return to the world of real words, albeit ones connected to a thing designed to make you feel unwell.

I say that because I always feel unwell on — or even at the thought of — a ROLLERCOASTER, but I know they bring a great deal of pleasure to lots of people — including my own family, who enjoy seeing me turn green.

These days, my favorite thrill is spotting a Strands word that goes up or down in a CORKSCREW and today I got that with the word CORKSCREW.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Friday, August 7, game #887)

• GIZMO
• THINGAMAJIGGY
• DINGUS
• DOOHICKEY
• SPANGRAM: WHATCHAMACALLIT

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

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WhatsApp scam costs Hong Kong man $1.27 million after criminals used AI voice notes to impersonate his father — experts say secret codewords are the best way to stay safe

• Scammers stole $1.27m from a Hong Kong man after tricking him with AI
• The scheme impersonated his father using AI deepfake tech
• Experts say using a secret codeword can thwart the fraudsters

A Hong Kong man was recently conned out of HK$10 million ($1.27 million) by scammers who used artificial intelligence (AI) on WhatsApp to impersonate his father and request the payments, highlighting the dangers of trusting increasingly realistic AI tools. Yet experts say there’s a simple trick that can save you from suffering a similar fate.

According to the Hong Kong police’s Cyberdefender platform (via the South China Morning Post), the fraudsters sent a WhatsApp voice message to the victim saying they urgently needed a transfer of HK$1 million ($127,000).

This was convincing to the target, the SCMP reported, because the “voice and manner of speech [of the message] matched his father’s.” The victim was repeatedly exploited this way until he had transferred the entirety of his savings.

Warning people against falling for AI trickery, the Hong Kong police force said: “Do not blindly trust voice messages. Even if the voice sounds similar, it does not necessarily mean it is accurate.”

If you’re unsure whether the message is genuine, put the phone down and call your friend or family member back so that you know with certainty who you are speaking to. The police also recommended enabling two-factor authentication on your devices and reviewing the list of devices connected to your accounts. If you see any suspicious devices, remove them immediately.

How to beat the fraudsters

(Image credit: Brett Jordan / Unsplash)

Deepfake scams like this are so effective because they appear to come from a familiar, trustworthy source — even when they’re anything but. Yet experts have just published a proven way that you can beat the swindlers and keep everyone safe.

As reported by the BBC, setting a secret codeword to be used in emergencies can help you tell if the person on the call is actually a loved one or merely an AI impersonating them. As the BBC put it, “Deepfake scams might use your voice, but they don’t know what’s in your head.”

One tactic used by scammers is to use urgency in order to create panic and prevent you from thinking straight. That’s why it’s important to take a moment to think to ensure you remember to use the codeword and verify the caller’s identity.

When it comes to picking a codeword, “Pick something that’s easy to remember and hard to guess,” the BBC recommended. “Inside jokes are a safe bet.”

As Philadelphia lawyer and anti-scam activist Gary Schildhorn put it, there are three red flags to look out for: time pressure, a request for hard-to-trace funds (like cash, cryptocurrency or gift cards), and control over who you can speak to on the call. Experience any of those and you might be speaking to a malicious con artist.

Bear all that in mind and you stand a much better chance of protecting yourself from fraudsters. The next time you get an unusual message or call seemingly from a loved one, take a minute to breathe and remember your codeword.

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Shock horror — AI-generated security patches fall short of actually solving all the problems they were meant to fix

• Researchers tested AI-generated patches on six CVEs with poor success rates
• Many fixes failed, altered behavior, or introduced new vulnerabilities
• Guidance improved outcomes, leading to FLAWED evaluation harness release

When using Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) to fix vulnerabilities, security professionals are most of the time just robbing Peter to pay Paul, experts have warned.

Researchers from 1Passwords Off-by-1 Labs analyzed fixes proposed by two frontier models - ChatGPT 5.5 at “medium” effort, and Claude Opus 4.8 at “high” effort.

As an experiment, the researchers took six recently disclosed CVEs and produced 6,080 patches using two frontier, cyber-capable reasoning models. The results were underwhelming to say the least - of all the proposed patches, just a quarter (26%) fully resolved the issue.

FLAWED work?

This obviously leaves plenty to be desired, as half (49.3%) of the patches failed to fix at least one existing exploit path. A fifth (20.1%) fixed the original issue but changed application behavior, while 2.3% introduced new security issues. Funny enough, 2.2% failed to fix the vulnerability while also introducing additional exploit paths, as well.

Even among the patches that might be considered (26% of clean ones and 20.1% of those that changed app behavior), more than a third were fragile and not entirely addressing the underlying problem.

The researchers created an acronym for automated LLM patches: FLAWED (Fix-Like Artifacts With Embedded Defects), and warned against letting AI work without human oversight: "The expected value of a fully LLM-generated, non-human-reviewed patch is a net-negative by a considerable margin."

Results drastically improved when the AI was given better context, the researchers further explained. Before working on any patch, human developers are usually given initial guidance. When AI is given proper guidance, its success rate rises to 65%. Incorrect guidance, on the other hand, drops the success rate down to 15.2%. The difference between humans and AI is that humans are better at catching misleading information and poor guidance.

This doesn’t mean developers will, or should, abandon AI. Worst case scenario is that developers will spend more time reviewing AI-generated fixes which could increase cognitive load and still end up being net negative. Therefore, the researchers released a patch evaluation harness called FLAWED, which organizations can now use to determine the effectiveness of their AI-generated fixes.

Via The Register

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NYT Connections hints and answers for Friday, August 7 (game #1153)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Thursday, August 6 (game #1152).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #1153) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• JACKPOT
• MOTOR
• SNOW
• JAR
• WICK
• SUNDAE
• RAMBO
• BUTTONS
• TOMATILLO
• SHAFT
• WAX
• BUCKYBALL
• LIQUID NITROGEN
• FRAGRANCE
• CABLES
• REFRIGERATOR

NYT Connections today (game #1153) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: Parts of thing you light
• GREEN: Frozen
• BLUE: Elements of a lift (in the UK)
• PURPLE: Begin with a masculine beast

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #1153) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: COMPONENTS OF A CANDLE
• GREEN: COLD THINGS
• BLUE: PARTS OF AN ELEVATOR
• PURPLE: STARTING WITH MALE ANIMALS

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #1153) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #1153, are…

• YELLOW: COMPONENTS OF A CANDLE: FRAGRANCE, JAR, WAX, WICK
• GREEN: COLD THINGS: LIQUID NITROGEN, REFRIGERATOR, SNOW, SUNDAE
• BLUE: PARTS OF AN ELEVATOR: BUTTONS, CABLES, MOTOR, SHAFT
• PURPLE: STARTING WITH MALE ANIMALS: BUCKYBALL, JACKPOT, RAMBO, TOMATILLO

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 2 mistakes

“Solid” was Connections’ assessment of my performance today, which is very generous considering I messed up both COMPONENTS OF A CANDLE and COLD THINGS.

For COLD THINGS I thought it was specifically about keeping things cold, but after feeling confident about LIQUID NITROGEN, REFRIGERATOR, and SNOW, I panicked and selected JAR.

Next, I was certain we were looking for something to do with candles but instead of JAR I picked SHAFT, reasoning that it described the shape of a traditional candle.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Thursday, August 6, 2026, game #1152)

• YELLOW: CLASSIC WOODEN TOYS: ALPHABET BLOCKS, CUP-AND-BALL, JACOB'S LADDER, LINCOLN LOGS
• GREEN: PLACES WITH LANES: BOWLING ALLEY, FREEWAY, SUPERMARKET, SWIMMING POOL
• BLUE: ICONIC ROMAN LANDMARKS: COLOSSEUM, PANTHEON, SPANISH STEPS, TREVI FOUNTAIN
• PURPLE: PLACES WITH NETS: BARCLAYS CENTER, FISHING BOAT, HOCKEY RINK, TENNIS COURT

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

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NYT Strands hints and answers for Friday, August 7 (game #887)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Thursday, August 6 (game #886).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #887) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Struggling to find the words

NYT Strands today (game #887) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• LILAC
• CHIA
• THUG
• HICK
• TAIL
• WHIG

NYT Strands today (game #887) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 15 letters

NYT Strands today (game #887) - hint #4 - spangram position

What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

• First side: left, 1st row

• Last side: left, 6th row

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #887) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #887, are…

• GIZMO
• THINGAMAJIGGY
• DINGUS
• DOOHICKEY
• SPANGRAM: WHATCHAMACALLIT

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 hint

When you have a 13-letter word and it is not even the spangram then you know you have just played a difficult game.

Even though this only involved four game words, plus the (incredibly long) spangram, finding the words was indeed quite the struggle — even with the head start of a hint word.

Adding to the difficulty were slight regional variations, as I grew up calling things a “thingamebob” rather than THINGAMAJIGGY and had never heard of DOOHICKEY until I somehow put the letters together to form something approaching a word.

If you completed this without a hint then kudos.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Thursday, August 6, game #886)

• CHERRY
• REDBUD
• DOGWOOD
• HAWTHORN
• MAGNOLIA
• SPANGRAM: FLOWERINGTREE

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

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More hefty GPU price hikes are rumored — and your only chance of a high-end Nvidia graphics card at MSRP is at QuakeCon

• MSI's Nvidia GPUs are rumored to be getting price hikes
• They'll be 20% more expensive (or worse) in China, and that kind of increase will surely be seen elsewhere
• This is happening against a backdrop of wider price hikes for graphics cards – although Nvidia is offering a rare chance at an RTX 5080 or 5090 at MSRP

As fresh rumors reveal that another graphics card maker is set to hike prices, Nvidia has a plan to let you buy a Founders Edition Blackwell GPU at the MSRP, even in the case of the RTX 5090 — although you'll need to travel.

And you'll need to move very fast, attend QuakeCon in Texas, which starts today, and get yourself to the GeForce booth (hat tip to VideoCardz) before supplies of RTX 5070, 5080, and 5090 Founders Edition graphics cards run out. And I don't think that they will last for long (a matter of minutes, at a guess, although hopefully that won't be the case).

Nvidia describes this as 'Verified Priority Access' in real life, and at least it does give gamers a chance to buy an RTX 5080 and 5090 at the intended price, which is not something you can get anywhere near when purchasing one of these high-end Nvidia GPUs at retail.

As for the most recent news on GPU price hikes, Wccftech spotted that MSI is the latest graphics card maker to announce that its products will be considerably more expensive.

This is just a rumor, one that arrives via the Board Channels in China, and so should be served with some seasoning — but the theory is that MSI's Nvidia GPUs are set for price hikes of 20% or more. This is due to rising memory prices, of course, and what Nvidia charges its partners for video RAM modules (as Team Green is paying more, it passes that bill on, of course).

The price increase is in the order of $300 (£220 / AU$420) for the RTX 5080 over in China (converting from RMB), around $200 (£150 / AU$280) for the RTX 5070 Ti, and approximately $100 (£75 / AU$140) for RTX 5060 models (and not far off that for the RTX 5050).

Sadly, not only will current-gen Nvidia GeForce graphics cards be affected, but also RTX 4000 and 3000 models (with GDDR6 video RAM getting costlier, as well as GDDR7).

Analysis: pricey times

(Image credit: Nvidia)

While this is a rumored cost increase for MSI products in China, these exact same pricing pressures are, of course, happening globally, so there's no reason to believe that MSI's GPUs in other regions won't follow suit.

What's more, this isn't just a problem that pertains to MSI, but Nvidia's other card-making partners, and those companies are also rumored to be implementing hefty price hikes. For example, just this week we've heard that Gigabyte GPU prices will jump between 20% and 40%. Also, on a regional basis, Nvidia RTX 5000 models in South Korea are looking at price hikes of up to 30%.

So, this is a coherent picture of hikes, and those percentages are all in a similar ballpark, indicating increases of at least 20% or a good deal more. They are also backed up by more general chatter from the grapevine about Nvidia's VRAM increases and AMD's Radeon GPUs becoming pricier.

I fear that getting any kind of current-gen graphics card at, or near, the MSRP could be a much tougher task before long, and those at QuakeCon better make the most of Nvidia's GeForce offerings at the firm's booth. As noted, I expect this to be the definition of a flash sale — as in they'll be gone in a flash — although you do have another shot at winning an RTX 5070 in the Quake III Arena RTX Remix and Doom: The Dark Ages challenges.

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NYT Strands hints and answers for Thursday, August 6 (game #886)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Wednesday, August 5 (game #885).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #886) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Blossoming forth

NYT Strands today (game #886) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• WRATH
• LION
• GOON
• FLOW
• HATRED
• BEER

NYT Strands today (game #886) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 13 letters

NYT Strands today (game #886) - hint #4 - spangram position

What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

• First side: bottom, 1st column

• Last side: top, 5th column

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #886) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #886, are…

• CHERRY
• REDBUD
• DOGWOOD
• HAWTHORN
• MAGNOLIA
• SPANGRAM: FLOWERINGTREE

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 hint

This game came to me in stages.

First I managed to find CHERRY while searching for non-game words, then in the belief that we were looking for fruit trees I took a hint and was given REDBUD, which changed my thinking completely.

Spotting “tree” and “flower” I managed to put together the spangram and then complete the board. Like the act of gardening and maintaining a FLOWERINGTREE it felt like a long, but rewarding process.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Wednesday, August 5, game #885)

• IDEA
• THOUGHT
• OPINION
• PLAN
• NOTION
• CONCEPT
• SPANGRAM: BRAINSTORMING

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

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NYT Connections hints and answers for Thursday, August 6 (game #1152)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Wednesday, August 5 (game #1151).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #1152) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• SWIMMING POOL
• TENNIS COURT
• FREEWAY
• HOCKEY RINK
• BARCLAYS CENTER
• COLOSSEUM
• SUPERMARKET
• JACOB'S LADDER
• PANTHEON
• BOWLING ALLEY
• LINCOLN LOGS
• SPANISH STEPS
• ALPHABET
• BLOCKS
• FISHING BOAT
• TREVI FOUNTAIN
• CUP-AND-BALL

NYT Connections today (game #1152) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: Things kids play with
• GREEN: Linked by something you must stay in
• BLUE: Well known tourist attractions
• PURPLE: Linked by something you could get caught in

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #1152) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: CLASSIC WOODEN TOYS
• GREEN: PLACES WITH LANES
• BLUE: ICONIC ROMAN LANDMARKS
• PURPLE: PLACES WITH NETS

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #1152) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #1152, are…

• YELLOW: CLASSIC WOODEN TOYS: ALPHABET BLOCKS, CUP-AND-BALL, JACOB'S LADDER, LINCOLN LOGS
• GREEN: PLACES WITH LANES: BOWLING ALLEY, FREEWAY, SUPERMARKET, SWIMMING POOL
• BLUE: ICONIC ROMAN LANDMARKS: COLOSSEUM, PANTHEON, SPANISH STEPS, TREVI FOUNTAIN
• PURPLE: PLACES WITH NETS: BARCLAYS CENTER, FISHING BOAT, HOCKEY RINK, TENNIS COURT

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 2 mistakes

I was utterly confused by today’s game, but somehow managed to get away with just two mistakes.

The only thing I was certain of was that BARCLAYS CENTER is the home of the Brooklyn Nets, but this meager piece of knowledge didn’t help at all. First, I linked BOWLING ALLEY, SWIMMING POOL, HOCKEY RINK and TENNIS COURT thinking these were all amenities every town should have (they are right).

Then after threading together ICONIC ROMAN LANDMARKS with the idea that they all sounded like historical tourist spots, I made another mistake linking ALPHABET BLOCKS, TENNIS COURT, BOWLING ALLEY and BARCLAYS CENTER — reasoning that they all described types of buildings.

Somehow, shuffling around the various options got me over the line, but this really was a game I should have lost.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Wednesday, August 5, 2026, game #1151)

• YELLOW: NAVIGATE: DRIVE, MANEUVER, PILOT, STEER
• GREEN: JEANS BRANDS: DIESEL, GAP, LUCKY, WRANGLER
• BLUE: HOUSE STYLES: CAPE COD, MISSION, RANCH, TUDOR
• PURPLE: WHAT "STOCK" MIGHT REFER TO: BROTH, CATTLE, INVESTMENT, MERCHANDISE

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

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NYT Connections hints and answers for Wednesday, August 5 (game #1151)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Tuesday, August 4 (game #1150).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #1151) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• LUCKY
• MISSION
• RANCH
• CATTLE
• WRANGLER
• INVESTMENT
• GAP
• STEER
• BROTH
• PILOT
• CAPE COD
• MERCHANDISE
• DRIVE
• DIESEL
• TUDOR
• MANEUVER

NYT Connections today (game #1151) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: Plot a path
• GREEN: Purveyors of denim
• BLUE: Types of home buildings
• PURPLE: The common link rhymes with “lock”

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #1151) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: NAVIGATE
• GREEN: JEANS BRANDS
• BLUE: HOUSE STYLES
• PURPLE: WHAT "STOCK" MIGHT REFER TO

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #1151) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #1151, are…

• YELLOW: NAVIGATE: DRIVE, MANEUVER, PILOT, STEER
• GREEN: JEANS BRANDS: DIESEL, GAP, LUCKY, WRANGLER
• BLUE: HOUSE STYLES: CAPE COD, MISSION, RANCH, TUDOR
• PURPLE: WHAT "STOCK" MIGHT REFER TO: BROTH, CATTLE, INVESTMENT, MERCHANDISE

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 mistake

I fell for the obvious trap and linked WRANGLER, CATTLE, RANCH, and STEER today. But unable at that point to see any alternative groups, I went for it anyway.

Thankfully, after this mistake I found my way to the four tiles that made up NAVIGATE.

Not for the first time I’d take issue with Connections and protest that GAP, while being a seller of jeans, is not exactly one of the top JEANS BRANDS. Very misleading. Oh well, I Guess I will have to Levi it there as it’s onLee a game.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Tuesday, August 4, 2026, game #1150)

• YELLOW: LONG CYLINDRICAL THINGS: CIGARETTE, FOAM ROLLER, POOL NOODLE, PRETZEL ROD
• GREEN: ICONIC NYC SIGHTS: BODEGA, PIGEON, SUBWAY STATION, TAXI CAB
• BLUE: THINGS WITH PEDALS: PIANO, SEWING MACHINE, SWAN BOAT, UNICYCLE
• PURPLE: V-SHAPED THINGS: ANGLE BRACKET, CHEVRON, GOOSE FORMATION, PEACE SIGN

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

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