NYT Connections Hints and Answers Today: July 20, 2026
Need a Connections hint today? Start with one spoiler-free clue for July 20, 2026, then reveal stronger category hints or the four answers only when you choose. This guide covers today's NYT Connections clues, categories and answers without spoiling the whole board.
Nora BennettSenior language and word-games editor6 min read
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What to expect from this Connections grid
Need the NYT Connections hints and answers today for July 20, 2026? This puzzle mixes loud announcements, clickable screen items, several kinds of pearls, and words hiding alcoholic drinks at the front.
The final group is especially sneaky because the drinks are not separate words. They appear as the opening letters of longer words. If you are catching up first, visit the July 19 Connections hints and answers. When you are ready for the following puzzle, continue to the July 21 Connections hints and answers.
Today’s Connections words
Quick, no-spoiler hints
- Yellow: Make something known, often loudly.
- Green: Common items on a screen or webpage.
- Blue: Four very different associations with the same small object.
- Purple: Look only at the beginnings of the words.
Try separating the clear digital group first. Then ask whether the apparent food words really belong together. They do not.
Stronger hints
- Yellow: Each word can work as a verb meaning announce or proclaim.
- Green: You might select each one with a mouse, trackpad, or finger.
- Blue: Put “pearl” or “pearls” near each word or idea.
- Purple: Each word begins with the name of an alcoholic beverage.
For the purple group, do not focus on Alexa as a voice assistant or meadow as a grassy field. Read their first few letters instead.
Today’s Connections answers
Reveal all four groupsThe answers stay hidden until you choose to open them.Reveal
- Yellow, Announce: Blare, Herald, Sound, Trumpet
- Green, Things to click: Button, Icon, Link, Menu
- Blue, Associated with pearls: Bubble tea, Oyster, Swine, Wisdom
- Purple, Starting with alcoholic beverages: Alexa, Meadow, Portobello, Sakes
Why each group works
Reveal the group explanationsCategory names and answer words stay hidden until you choose.Reveal
Yellow: Announce
The words are blare, herald, sound, and trumpet. Each can describe making news, an arrival, or an opinion widely known. A headline may herald a new era. A speaker can blare a warning. Bells can sound an alarm. Someone may trumpet an achievement.
The trap is treating trumpet only as a brass instrument and sound only as something heard. Both words are acting as verbs here. If herald felt unfamiliar, the herald meaning guide explains how it can mean announce, signal, or welcome publicly.
Green: Things to Click
The words are button, icon, link, and menu. All four are familiar interface elements. A button performs an action, an icon represents a tool or app, a link opens another location, and a menu reveals a set of choices.
The trap is looking for physical objects. A button can be on clothing, an icon can be a famous person, a link can join a chain, and a menu can be printed on paper. Their shared digital use is what makes the group clean.
Blue: Associated With Pearls
The words are bubble tea, oyster, swine, and wisdom. Oysters can produce pearls. Bubble tea contains chewy balls commonly called boba or tapioca pearls. “Pearls of wisdom” means valuable little pieces of advice. “Pearls before swine” describes offering something valuable to people who cannot appreciate it.
The trap is building a food group from bubble tea, oyster, and portobello. Portobello belongs elsewhere, while wisdom and swine complete the pearl connection. For the two less literal uses, see what pearls before swine means and the guide to bubble tea pearls.
Purple: Starting With Alcoholic Beverages
The words are Alexa, meadow, portobello, and sakes. Alexa begins with ale, meadow begins with mead, portobello begins with port, and sakes begins with sake. The beverage names sit directly at the start of the longer entries.
The trap is sorting meadow, portobello, oyster, and bubble tea as natural or edible things. Another wrong path is reading “sakes” only through the phrase “for goodness’ sake.” The category depends on spelling, not the usual meaning of each full word.
Tricky words and decoys
Reveal the puzzle trapsThis section explains where specific words really belong.Reveal
Herald is probably the least common verb on the board. It often means to announce something important or signal that it is coming. A warm day can herald spring, while trumpets can literally herald a royal arrival.
Swine looks blunt and unrelated until you remember “pearls before swine.” The phrase is not about farming. It warns against giving something precious to an audience that will dismiss it.
Bubble tea creates a softer version of the same pearl idea. Its “pearls” are edible tapioca balls, not gems. The bubble tea pearls explainer covers boba, tapioca pearls, and popping boba.
Portobello is the strongest food decoy. It sits near oyster, which can also name a mushroom variety, and bubble tea. Its real job is hiding port at the beginning.
Alexa and meadow make the letter trick harder to notice because ale and mead stop before the complete words do. Once you spot one drink, checking the opening letters of other odd entries usually reveals the group.
How to solve more puzzles like this
Start with the group that has the strongest shared function. Button, icon, link, and menu all belong to the same digital setting, so they offer fewer exceptions than a broad category such as food.
Next, test words as different parts of speech. A noun like trumpet may also be a verb. Connections frequently uses an ordinary word in its less obvious grammatical role.
Watch for phrases built around a shared missing word. Oyster, wisdom, swine, and bubble tea do not share a physical setting, but each connects naturally to pearl or pearls.
Finally, inspect spelling when four leftovers seem impossible. Look for hidden words, shared beginnings, shared endings, or one-letter changes. Purple groups often care more about letter patterns than definitions.
Avoid submitting a group merely because three words fit. Find a precise explanation for all four and identify what tempting fifth word is trying to join them.
NYT Connections FAQ
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What are today’s Connections answers?
The groups are announce; things to click; associated with pearls; and words starting with alcoholic beverages. The complete words in each group are listed in the answer section.
Why is swine associated with pearls?
It comes from “pearls before swine,” a phrase about giving something valuable to people who will not appreciate it. Read the full pearls before swine explanation for examples and common misreadings.
How does Alexa start with an alcoholic beverage?
Alexa starts with the letters ale. The same pattern gives mead in meadow, port in portobello, and sake in sakes.
Is bubble tea really made with pearls?
Yes. The chewy tapioca balls in many bubble teas are called tapioca pearls or boba. Some drinks instead use juice-filled popping boba.
Where can I find the next daily puzzle guide?
The next set is covered in the NYT Connections hints and answers for July 21, 2026.
Nora Bennett
Nora Bennett is FluentSlang’s senior language and word-games editor. She writes spoiler-conscious daily puzzle guides and plain-English explainers for slang, idioms and tricky clue patterns, helping readers understand why an answer works, not just what it is.
More NYT Connections help
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