NYT Connections hints and answers for Tuesday, April 28 (game #1052)

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 Monday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Monday, April 27 (game #1051).

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 #1052) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• CALL
• TAN
• DRY
• FLOWER
• CHECK
• DIAL
• FOLD
• BID
• MATCH
• SORT
• STAMP
• APPEAL
• WASH
• SCREEN
• REQUEST
• COUPON

NYT Connections today (game #1052) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• YELLOW: Plea deal
• GREEN: Things you do to clothes
• BLUE: They share a format with fiction
• PURPLE: Begin with a short bright word

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 #1052) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: ENTREATY
• GREEN: LAUNDRY DAY VERBS
• BLUE: THINGS THAT COME IN "BOOKS"
• PURPLE: SUN_____ 

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

NYT Connections today (game #1052) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #1052, are…

• YELLOW: ENTREATY APPEAL, BID, CALL, REQUEST
• GREEN: LAUNDRY DAY VERBS DRY, FOLD, SORT, WASH
• BLUE: THINGS THAT COME IN "BOOKS" CHECK, COUPON, MATCH, STAMP
• PURPLE: SUN_____ DIAL, FLOWER, SCREEN, TAN

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

While I was thrilled to complete this game it was one that came with regret as I only saw the purple/hardest group of four words that begin SUN_____ with just eight tiles left — and there is no glory in that.

Initially I came close to selecting a group that was about collecting flowers, but beyond DRY it all felt too vague and fortunately I submitted the far more likely group of LAUNDRY DAY VERBS.

I was stumped by THINGS THAT COME IN “BOOKS” and I think that’s down to a mixture of cultural differences — COUPON books are not really a thing in the UK — and redundant objects in the form of MATCH books and CHECK books, both of which I have not seen for nearly a decade.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Monday, April 27, game #1051)

• YELLOW: SALAD INGREDIENTS RANCH DRESSING, RED ONION, ROASTED CHICKEN, ROMAINE LETTUCE
• GREEN: CLASSIC FILMS RAIN MAN, REAR WINDOW, RESERVOIR DOGS, ROMAN HOLIDAY
• BLUE: "THE SIMPSONS" CHARACTERS RADIOACTIVE MAN, RALPH WIGGUM, REVEREND LOVEJOY, ROD FLANDERS
• PURPLE: ENDING IN NBA PLAYERS RAGING BULL, REGINA KING, ROE BUCK, ROTARY CLIPPER

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 Tuesday, April 28 (game #786)

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 Monday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Monday, April 27 (game #785).

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 #786) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Attention, attention!

NYT Strands today (game #786) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• MINT
• HIRE
• OBEY
• BELLY
• WILT
• SANE

NYT Strands today (game #786) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 9 letters

NYT Strands today (game #786) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

First side: left, 6th row

Last side: right, 3rd row

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

NYT Strands today (game #786) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #786, are…

• WATCH
• BEHOLD
• OBSERVE
• WITNESS
• MONITOR
• EYEBALL
• SPANGRAM: LIKEAHAWK

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

"Attention, attention!" could have gone several ways — a military drill, a tannoy announcement, a particularly insistent teacher. 

WATCH, lurking somewhat obviously in the top-left hand corner, was the word that narrowed it down to words meaning to keep a close eye on something.

After finding OBSERVE I had neatly occupied the top half of the board and was able to spot LIKEAHAWK — had I been a hawk I would have spotted it a bit more quickly, but I was pleased with my catch nonetheless.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Monday, April 27, game #785)

• ICICLE
• IOTA
• IVORY
• ICON
• ISLAND
• IRONIC
• SPANGRAM: EYEOPENERS

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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Microsoft is finally giving us full control over Windows 11 updates, including delaying them indefinitely, and I couldn't be happier

• Microsoft is giving us much more control over Windows 11 updates
• In testing you can now delay updates indefinitely
• Forced updates are a thing of the past, too, and there'll be fewer disruptions with more updates bundled together

Microsoft already told us it was planning substantial changes to Windows 11 updates, and some major moves are now in place.

This is happening in testing currently, as announced by Microsoft in a lengthy blog post, with three main pieces of work highlighted.

The big change that many have wished for is functionality that allows for pausing a Windows 11 update for as long as you want. And as 'long as you want' means just that, with the ability to hold off any given update until a specific date of up to 35 days in the future – but you can initiate another pause after that, and keep going.

Microsoft explains: "This means you can now re-pause for up to 35 days at a time, with no limits on how many times you can reset the pause end date."

Another important refinement of the update process is the end of forced updates, with Microsoft ensuring that the Power menu (button) always has the option to simply 'Shut down' and 'Restart' alongside 'Update and shut down' and 'Update and restart' (the latter two only being present if there is a pending update, of course).

So, you always have the choice to just switch off your PC or restart, avoiding an update, with a guarantee that "Windows will perform exactly that action, without unexpectedly starting an update". You have to explicitly choose one of the update options to apply the pending patch.

The third main change is that you can elect to miss out on downloading and applying updates when you're installing Windows 11, to make setting up a PC a lot quicker. We already heard about this, with the rollout flagged by a tester previously, but Microsoft is now widely delivering this option to Windows Insiders.

It's worth noting that the choice to skip updates during installation is not available for commercial devices (where setup is managed), and also doesn't apply to cases where a device may require updates to even work with Windows 11 (as obviously it wouldn't be possible to skip in these scenarios).

Microsoft further explains that Windows 11 users will see fewer disruptions in terms of having to restart for updates, as more of them – the likes of .NET or driver updates – will be bundled together with the monthly cumulative update.

In other words, you can get them all out of the way at once (albeit with a lengthier overall update process). Driver updates will also be given more meaningful titles, so you can better understand what they're for.

Analysis: 'cup of coffee' updates, begone

(Image credit: TechRadar)

Remember that all of this is in testing right now – and therefore subject to change, potentially – but I wouldn't be surprised to see these features arrive for all Windows 11 users before long.

Microsoft has indicated that it isn't hanging about with implementing the project to fix Windows 11 in 2026, and we're seeing the evidence already, so I'd imagine this will be piped through with some speed (before the 26H2 update later this year, certainly).

These are without doubt some very useful introductions, and particularly the ability to delay updates indefinitely, which is something I've been very keen to see brought in. I wasn't expecting it to actually allow users to pause for as long as they want, although technically, you are still going to be forced to update when the version of Windows 11 you're on runs out of support. But that's a whole lot of road with which to dodge an update, if you're really worried about, say, reports of a nasty bug that apply to a hardware configuration you have with your PC.

The change to avoid forced updates is great to see, as well, although really, the system should have always worked like this. Hopefully this will mean an end to 'shower' or 'cup of coffee' updates, whereby a user leaves their PC for 10 or 15 minutes or so for a break, and comes back to find their device is partway through an update it has kicked off all by itself.

Overall, this is impressive and Microsoft definitely gets some credit here, albeit we've had to wait a good long while for this to happen.

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NYT Strands hints and answers for Monday, April 27 (game #785)

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, April 26 (game #784).

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 #785) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… The ayes have it

NYT Strands today (game #785) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• YETI
• COPED
• SCORE
• NAIL
• RICE
• CRANE

NYT Strands today (game #785) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 10 letters

NYT Strands today (game #785) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

First side: top, 2nd column

Last side: bottom, 3rd column

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

NYT Strands today (game #785) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #785, are…

• ICICLE
• IOTA
• IVORY
• ICON
• ISLAND
• IRONIC
• SPANGRAM: EYEOPENERS

• My rating: Hard
• My score: Perfect

The theme had me stumped for a while today.

"The ayes have it!" reads like a parliamentary procedure joke, which sent me briefly in entirely the wrong direction. It's actually words that start with I — as in the letter, as in "eye." Sometimes, Strands themes are a law onto themselves.

After getting ICICLE and IOTA  the penny dropped and from here on in it was just a case of looking for the letter I repeatedly. 

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Sunday, April 26, game #784)

• ARGUE
• DIFFER
• QUARREL
• WRANGLE
• SQUABBLE
• BICKER
• SPANGRAM: LOCKHORNS

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 Monday, April 27 (game #1051)

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, April 26 (game #1050).

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 #1051) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• RADIOACTIVE MAN
• RAGING BULL
• RED ONION
• REGINA KING
• RESERVOIR DOGS
• REVEREND LOVEJOY
• ROMAN HOLIDAY
• ROASTED CHICKEN
• ROE BUCK
• REAR WINDOW
• ROMAINE LETTUCE
• ROD FLANDERS
• RAIN MAN
• ROTARY CLIPPER
• RALPH WIGGUM
• RANCH DRESSING

NYT Connections today (game #1051) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• YELLOW: A healthy lunch
• GREEN: 5-star movies
• BLUE: Straight outta Springfield
• PURPLE: Think: Basketball teams

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 #1051) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: SALAD INGREDIENTS
• GREEN: CLASSIC FILMS
• BLUE: "THE SIMPSONS" CHARACTERS
• PURPLE: ENDING IN NBA PLAYERS

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

NYT Connections today (game #1051) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #1051, are…

• YELLOW: SALAD INGREDIENTS RANCH DRESSING, RED ONION, ROASTED CHICKEN, ROMAINE LETTUCE
• GREEN: CLASSIC FILMS RAIN MAN, REAR WINDOW, RESERVOIR DOGS, ROMAN HOLIDAY
• BLUE: "THE SIMPSONS" CHARACTERS RADIOACTIVE MAN, RALPH WIGGUM, REVEREND LOVEJOY, ROD FLANDERS
• PURPLE: ENDING IN NBA PLAYERS RAGING BULL, REGINA KING, ROE BUCK, ROTARY CLIPPER

• My rating: Hard
• My score: Perfect

Usually when I am faced with a slightly different Connections grid my brain goes into panic mode, resulting in completely bafflement. Not today.

Somehow I managed to see all four groups immediately and decided to play a new game: guess which one of them warranted being the purple/hardest group. The singular NBA teams seemed the most obscure, so I went with that.

The only thing that gave me pause was RADIOACTIVE MAN, which I was uncertain was a character from The Simpsons but very certain did not belong among the CLASSIC FILMS.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Sunday, April 26, game #1050)

• YELLOW: STIPULATION CATCH, CAVEAT, FINE PRINT, STRINGS
• GREEN: VOCAL CHARACTERISTICS PITCH, RANGE, REGISTER, TONE
• BLUE: CHARACTERS IN "DICK AND JANE" DICK, JANE, MOTHER, SPOT
• PURPLE: THINGS WITH FACES BUILDING, CLIFF, CLOCK, POLYHEDRON

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, April 26 (game #784)

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, April 25 (game #783).

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 #784) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Get into it

NYT Strands today (game #784) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• BUSKER
• BUSH
• READ
• QUAD
• REAL
• GLARE

NYT Strands today (game #784) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 9 letters

NYT Strands today (game #784) - 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 #784) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #784, are…

• ARGUE
• DIFFER
• QUARREL
• WRANGLE
• SQUABBLE
• BICKER
• SPANGRAM: LOCKHORNS

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

Initially I thought the theme “Get into it” was describing new hobbies, like when you get into something new — like baking or model railways or jigsaws. Spotting ARGUE put a stop to this notion and sent me off on the path of enlightenment — or should we say path of disagreement.

The order in which you spot game words is crucial to how quickly you complete Strands. 

Had I seen LOCKHORNS and WRANGLE first I would have thought we were looking to get into some rodeo action. We weren't, obviously.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Saturday, April 25, game #783)

• CORNER
• DISCOUNT
• GROCERY
• CONVENIENCE
• LIQUOR
• SPANGRAM: STOREFRONT

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, April 26 (game #1050)

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, April 25 (game #1049).

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 #1050) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• SPOT
• CLIFF
• PITCH
• BUILDING
• MOTHER
• CLOCK
• CATCH
• STRINGS
• REGISTER
• FINE PRINT
• JANE
• TONE
• POLYHEDRON
• CAVEAT
• RANGE
• DICK

NYT Connections today (game #1050) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• YELLOW: An agreement with reservations
• GREEN: Singing vocabulary
• BLUE: Featured in popular children’s fiction
• PURPLE: A word that rhymes with “races” in common

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 #1050) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: STIPULATION
• GREEN: VOCAL CHARACTERISTICS
• BLUE: CHARACTERS IN "DICK AND JANE"
• PURPLE: THINGS WITH FACES

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

NYT Connections today (game #1050) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #1050, are…

• YELLOW: STIPULATION CATCH, CAVEAT, FINE PRINT, STRINGS
• GREEN: VOCAL CHARACTERISTICS PITCH, RANGE, REGISTER, TONE
• BLUE: CHARACTERS IN "DICK AND JANE" DICK, JANE, MOTHER, SPOT
• PURPLE: THINGS WITH FACES BUILDING, CLIFF, CLOCK, POLYHEDRON

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 mistake

My first quartet of tiles today fell into the category of a yellow group I thought was going to be purple.

Whenever this happens I know that I am in for a tough game and today’s was no exception, as I could barely see two words that could be linked — let alone four.

SPOT, DICK and JANE sounded like Children’s book characters, so I took a gamble and added CLIFF (something to do with Clifford the Big Red Dog perhaps?). After getting the “one away” message, MOTHER seemed the next most obvious. Next, with just eight tiles left I saw VOCAL CHARACTERISTICS immediately.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Saturday, April 25, game #1049)

• YELLOW: BODY COVERINGS ENAMEL, HAIR, NAIL, SKIN
• GREEN: MASSES, IN IDIOMS CROWD, HAYSTACK, MILLION, OCEAN
• BLUE: OLD TIMEY SLANG FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT COPPER, DICK, FLATFOOT, GUMSHOE
• PURPLE: STARTING WITH SYNONYMS FOR "THROW" CAST IRON, CHUCK E. CHEESE, HURLY-BURLY, PITCHFORK

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 Saturday, April 25 (game #1049)

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 Friday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Friday, April 24 (game #1048).

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 #1049) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• HAYSTACK
• PITCHFORK
• COPPER
• OCEAN
• CAST IRON
• ENAMEL
• HURLY-BURLY
• NAIL
• DICK
• CHUCK E.
• CHEESE
• HAIR
• CROWD
• GUMSHOE
• SKIN
• MILLION
• FLATFOOT

NYT Connections today (game #1049) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• YELLOW: Human protection
• GREEN: Phrases including a large amount
• BLUE: retro ways to describe a detective
• PURPLE: Begin with a word for “toss”

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 #1049) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: BODY COVERINGS
• GREEN: MASSES, IN IDIOMS
• BLUE: OLD TIMEY SLANG FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT
• PURPLE: STARTING WITH SYNONYMS FOR "THROW"

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

NYT Connections today (game #1049) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #1049, are…

• YELLOW: BODY COVERINGS ENAMEL, HAIR, NAIL, SKIN
• GREEN: MASSES, IN IDIOMS CROWD, HAYSTACK, MILLION, OCEAN
• BLUE: OLD TIMEY SLANG FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT COPPER, DICK, FLATFOOT, GUMSHOE
• PURPLE: STARTING WITH SYNONYMS FOR "THROW" CAST IRON, CHUCK E. CHEESE, HURLY-BURLY, PITCHFORK

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 mistake

Today’s green group MASSES, IN IDIOMS was one that I put together without properly thinking about it, but the phrase “needle in a haystack” had been in my mind earlier in the game as I made a mistake inexplicably linking HAYSTACK, PITCHFORK, MILLION and NAIL.

I’m really not sure what I was thinking there, but I pulled myself together enough to get OLD TIMEY SLANG FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT. This is an area where they could have come up with 160 different tiles, such is the variety of nicknames for bobbies and narcs.

Alas, today the purple group passed me by — largely because I’d wrongly assumed some inside knowledge about CHUCK E CHEESE was required, when all that was actually needed was knowledge of the word "chuck".

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Friday, April 24, game #1048)

• YELLOW: PIZZA INGREDIENTS CHEESE, DOUGH, PEPPERONI, TOMATO SAUCE
• GREEN: ASSOCIATED WITH OCTOPUSES ARMS, INK, INTELLIGENCE, SUCTION CUPS
• BLUE: THEY HAVE BLADES GRASS, HELICOPTER, ICE SKATES, LAWN MOWER
• PURPLE: WHAT "CAB" MIGHT REFER TO CABIN, CALLOWAY, RED WINE, TAXI

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 Saturday, April 25 (game #783)

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, April 24 (game #782).

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 #783) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… On the shopping block

NYT Strands today (game #783) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• DICE
• COINS
• CLONE
• COVEN
• TREE
• TEEN

NYT Strands today (game #783) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 10 letters

NYT Strands today (game #783) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

First side: left, 6th row

Last side: right, 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 #783) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #783, are…

• CORNER
• DISCOUNT
• GROCERY
• CONVENIENCE
• LIQUOR
• SPANGRAM: STOREFRONT

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

A homage of sorts to many kinds, but my no means all, of store.

I spent a good deal of my formative years living above my parents' shop, which was a bit of all those described here as it sold fruit and vegetables, cigarettes, newspapers, confectionery, stationery and bread as well as strange random items like sports shoes — which they sold precisely zero of for 20 years, but still dedicated shelf space to.

Anyway, I digress as none of this is relevant to today’s search, which was a rudimentary affair – although I did enjoy finding the word CORNER in the corner.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Friday, April 24, game #782)

• SHOUT
• WHOOP
• CATERWAUL
• BELLOW
• HOLLER
• CLAMOR
• SPANGRAM: LETSGETLOUD

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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New Windows 11 laptop looks like a true MacBook Neo rival that should worry Apple

• An Intel reference laptop has been spotted with a Wildcat Lake CPU
• It has a design that's very MacBook-inspired, and it looks like a notebook that'll go after the Neo
• You'll get peppier performance here, though, with a faster CPU and twice the RAM of the Neo

A sighting of a reference laptop from Intel featuring a new Wildcat Lake CPU has been causing quite a stir, as it appears to be squarely taking on Apple's popular new MacBook Neo.

Tom's Hardware highlighted a post on X by Vaidyanathan Subramaniam from Notebookcheck.net, who got a first look at the laptop at an Intel event, with some further info posted on the Notebookcheck.net site itself.

The device is a thin-and-light 14-inch notebook that has an aluminum chassis and sleek MacBook-style lines, with a vibrant green colorway that also follows in the footsteps of the Neo's bright appearance.

The CPU inside is a Wildcat Lake chip, as mentioned, which is a budget offering and effectively a cut-down version of the new Panther Lake silicon. The processor used is apparently the Intel Core 7 360 or Core 7 350, based on the presence of an NPU with 17 TOPS, alongside the CPU, which has two performance cores and four low-power efficiency cores (smaller than the normal efficiency cores, of which this chip has none).

The CPU offers what should be a decent enough level of performance, with a PL1 of 17W (22W maximum) and a PL2 of 35W (which can be hit for very brief bursts). Interestingly, there's also the option of operating at 11W, which allows the notebook to operate in fanless mode, needing no active cooling, so it'll be dead quiet in that case.

There's 16GB of soldered system RAM present alongside the CPU.

Analysis: a newer Neo?

(Image credit: Vaidyanathan Subramaniam of NotebookCheck.net on X / Intel)

Given that the MacBook Neo operates at lower wattages (generally under 10W), this should be a performant rival – especially given that it packs twice the RAM of Apple's laptop.

Remember, the Neo is restricted to 8GB of system memory, though Apple has done a good job of ensuring that this isn't a hindrance for typical everyday usage.

Future proofing, however, is more of a concern for me with the MacBook Neo due to that RAM loadout. Still, we don't know what price a Wildcat laptop, such as the one shown by Intel, will demand. Apple has, of course, made the Neo very competitive, and that value has been clearly demonstrated by the way it's flown off retail shelves.

I've been talking about the threat the MacBook Neo poses to the dominance of Windows 11 in the notebook world ever since Apple launched its budget portable, while wondering what Microsoft's answer might be. Fixing Windows 11 is one thing, but it looks like Intel could step in to lend its processing forces in the fight against Apple with Wildcat Lake, although there are still a good deal of unknowns to be fathomed out yet.

It's worth noting that the Intel laptop looks good in the photos taken and shared, but according to Subramaniam, its appearance is even more impressive in real life. Watch this space, as they say.

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Quordle hints and answers for Friday, April 24 (game #1551)

Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle 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: Quordle hints and answers for Thursday, April 23 (game #1550).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,400 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

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

Quordle today (game #1551) - hint #1 - Vowels

How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1551) - hint #2 - repeated letters

Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 2.

Quordle today (game #1551) - hint #3 - uncommon letters

Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• Yes. One of Q, Z, X or J appears among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1551) - hint #4 - starting letters (1)

Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 2.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1551) - hint #5 - starting letters (2)

What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• L

• R

• B

• L

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

Quordle today (game #1551) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1551, are…

• LOWLY
• RELAX
• BRASS
• LUNCH

Another close-to-the edge escape for me today.

With just one guess left I managed to get LOWLY after a strong conviction that the word must end L-Y. If it hadn’t been for previous guesses telling me where the Ls were not, I would have absolutely guessed “lolly”.

Phew!

Daily Sequence today (game #1551) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1551, are…

• LORRY
• FJORD
• THORN
• LOCUS

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1550, Thursday, 23 April: KNEAD, PULSE, CRUST, TASTE
• Quordle #1549, Wednesday, 22 April: WEEDY, OMEGA, CLEFT, GAVEL
• Quordle #1548, Tuesday, 21 April: FLUTE, KITTY, AFIRE, GRANT
• Quordle #1547, Monday, 20 April: QUART, TUMOR, STAFF, EAGLE
• Quordle #1546, Sunday, 19 April: PEACE, ERECT, ASSAY, SPILL
• Quordle #1545, Saturday, 18 April: STEAL, CURIO, SCOOP, BETEL
• Quordle #1544, Friday, 17 April: SMOCK, CRACK, SAINT, YIELD
• Quordle #1543, Thursday, 16 April: LIBEL, COURT, SULLY, VERSE
• Quordle #1542, Wednesday, 15 April: PIVOT, ELECT, STORE, CREME
• Quordle #1541, Tuesday, 14 April: STUNT, CHINA, LANCE, SLINK
• Quordle #1540, Monday, 13 April: INCUR, FLAKE, FLASK, WORDY
• Quordle #1539, Sunday, 12 April: STALK, OFTEN, CLOCK, AWAKE
• Quordle #1538, Saturday, 11 April: MINER, PLIER, PASTE, PITCH
• Quordle #1537, Friday, 10 April: PUPPY, TRADE, BRAND, KNOCK
• Quordle #1536, Thursday, 9 April: SKIMP, BAWDY, WHERE, DECOR
• Quordle #1535, Wednesday, 8 April: IDEAL, PULPY, HUMPH, RETCH
• Quordle #1534, Tuesday, 7 April: FIFTY, SHUSH, HELLO, ZEBRA
• Quordle #1533, Monday, 6 April: CHIEF, IDLER, PASTA, BRIAR
• Quordle #1532, Sunday, 5 April: PLUSH, GRATE, DEALT, LABEL
• Quordle #1531, Saturday, 4 April: MOTEL, COVEN, DRIER, SCOLD

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NYT Connections hints and answers for Friday, April 24 (game #1048)

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, April 23 (game #1047).

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 #1048) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• TOMATO SAUCE
• HELICOPTER
• TAXI
• INTELLIGENCE
• ICE SKATES
• RED WINE
• GRASS
• LAWN MOWER
• INK
• CABIN
• DOUGH
• SUCTION CUPS
• CHEESE
• CALLOWAY
• ARMS
• PEPPERONI

NYT Connections today (game #1048) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• YELLOW: Grab a slice
• GREEN: Cephalopod related
• BLUE: Machinery or sharp thin object
• PURPLE: A three-letter word in common

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 #1048) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: PIZZA INGREDIENTS
• GREEN: ASSOCIATED WITH OCTOPUSES
• BLUE: THEY HAVE BLADES
• PURPLE: WHAT "CAB" 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 #1048) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #1048, are…

• YELLOW: PIZZA INGREDIENTS CHEESE, DOUGH, PEPPERONI, TOMATO SAUCE
• GREEN: ASSOCIATED WITH OCTOPUSES ARMS, INK, INTELLIGENCE, SUCTION CUPS
• BLUE: THEY HAVE BLADES GRASS, HELICOPTER, ICE SKATES, LAWN MOWER
• PURPLE: WHAT "CAB" MIGHT REFER TO CABIN, CALLOWAY, RED WINE, TAXI

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 3 mistakes

Even though I only had eight tiles left it took me four attempts before I finally got the four things ASSOCIATED WITH OCTOPUSES. Had one of the tiles said “chewiness” I may have got there sooner, but I still really should have made the leap between SUCTION CUPS and INK quicker.

Elsewhere, this was a game of regrets and a lesson in stopping and taking time. If I had done that I may have added another “purple first” to my collection.

The temptation when a group jumps out at you is to submit it immediately, which is what I did today with PIZZA INGREDIENTS, but the next second I realized that CALLOWAY had to refer to the famous jazzman Cab Calloway and instantly saw the thread with TAXI, CABIN and RED WINE. Damn.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Thursday, April 23, game #1047)

• YELLOW: BORDER FLANK, NEIGHBOR, SKIRT, TOUCH
• GREEN: KINDS OF FICTION HISTORICAL, LITERARY, PULP, SCIENCE
• BLUE: WORDS IN A PLANETARY MNEMONIC EDUCATED, MOTHER, MY, VERY
• PURPLE: STARTING WITH FOUR-LETTER '80S BANDS ASIAGO, DEVOTE, TOTORO, WHAMMY

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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This free NASA tool lets you make a personalized satellite photo —and it's the most fun you'll have on Earth Day

• NASA has released an enjoyable free tool for Earth Day
• It lets you spell your name using landscape features in satellite photos
• You can share your creations or download them and print them later

Sustainability Week 2026

This article is part of a series of sustainability-themed articles we're running to observe Earth Day 2026 and promote more sustainable practices. Check out all of our Sustainability Week 2026 content.

You’ve heard of writing your name in the stars, but what about writing your name on Planet Earth? That’s what's NASA’s latest tool is offering up, and it’s a fun way to celebrate Earth Day and demonstrates the variety of landscapes and features found on our blue planet.

Specifically, you’ll need to head over to NASA’s ‘Your Name in Landsat’ website and enter your name — or whatever word you want — into the box near the top of the page. Click the Enter button and you’ll see it spelled out, with each letter being represented by a letter hidden in a satellite photo.

For instance, try entering ‘TechRadar’ and you’ll get nine images lined up next to each other. The first could be a rocky formation that resembles the letter T, the second a swirling oceanic current that looks like an E, and so on.

The result is an entertaining little digital toy that is an enjoyable way to brighten someone’s day. You can share a link to your creation or download it, ready to be sent over email or maybe printed out as a postcard.

And if you mouse over any of the images used to spell your chosen word, you’ll see the location it was sourced from, as well as its longitude and latitude. That enables you to check it out on a site like Google Maps if you want to see the landscape in more detail.

An enjoyable distraction

(Image credit: Future)

NASA’s latest plaything is designed to coincide with Earth Day, which landed on April 22 this year. The event, which has been running since 1970, is dedicated to supporting environmental protection efforts around the world — you can read our series of articles celebrating it during Sustainability Week 2026.

It therefore makes sense for NASA to time its Your Name in Landsat tool to line up with this annual event. Its images show the vast variety of environments found across the globe and might help to inspire a touch of activism in those who use it.

According to NASA, “The satellite images used in this interactive [tool] are part of Landsat's extensive record, spanning more than 50 years.” They were sourced from NASA Earth Observatory, NASA Worldview, USGS EarthExplorer, and ESA Sentinel Hub, and you can download them individually if you like. Landsat is the longest-running satellite imagery program in the world and has been going strong since 1972.

Unfortunately, the downloaded images are not particularly large, so aren’t ideal for using as a poster or similarly-sized object. But they’re still a good way to explore the world and have a little fun while doing it.

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