Today’s New York Times word games puzzle is Connections #1046, and it’s a satisfying mix of everyday vocabulary, word tricks, and a tricky purple category that will test even experienced players. Read on for structured hints, category reveals, and the full answer set — all laid out so you can get as much or as little help as you need.
What Is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections is a daily word puzzle from The New York Times where players group 16 words into four categories of four. Each category shares a hidden common thread — it could be a theme, a phrase completion, a word type, or something more abstract. The puzzle resets every day at midnight.
Categories are color-coded by difficulty: yellow is the most straightforward, green is a step up, blue involves more lateral thinking, and purple is the trickiest of all. Getting a group wrong counts as a mistake, and players are allowed up to four before the game ends. You can shuffle the board to spot patterns more easily, and once you identify a correct group, those four words disappear from the board.
How to Play
- Select four words you believe share a common connection.
- Submit your selection — if correct, those words are removed from the board.
- Each wrong guess costs you one of your four allowed mistakes.
- Complete all four groups to win. Shuffle the board anytime to see it from a new angle.
Category Hints for April 22, 2026
Not ready for answers yet? Here are vague hints for each color group — enough to point you in the right direction without giving it away.
🟨 Yellow: Think of the studio, not the gallery. What does a ceramics artist actually use?
🟩 Green: These words all mean to hit something hard. Think physical force — not a gentle tap.
🟦 Blue: These ordinary words have a secret double life. As proper nouns — names, places — they’re said completely differently.
🟪 Purple: Two words that go together to complete a common phrase. What can you “pick up”?
Category Names for April 22, 2026
Still working through it? Here are the actual category labels — one more layer of help before the full reveal.
🟨 POTTERY EQUIPMENT
🟩 WALLOP
🟦 WORDS PRONOUNCED DIFFERENT WAYS AS PROPER NOUNS
🟪 PICK-UP ___
Full Answers for Connections #1046 — April 22, 2026
Ready for the complete solution? Here it is:
🟨 POTTERY EQUIPMENT: CLAY, GLAZE, KILN, WHEEL
🟩 WALLOP: DECK, PUNCH, SLUG, SOCK
🟦 WORDS PRONOUNCED DIFFERENT WAYS AS PROPER NOUNS: HERB, NICE, POLISH, READING
🟪 PICK-UP ___: ARTIST, GAME, STICKS, TRUCK
What Made Today Tricky
The blue category was the sneakiest part of today’s puzzle. HERB, NICE, POLISH, and READING all look like ordinary common words — an herb from the garden, a nice compliment, polish on a shoe, some light reading. But as proper nouns, each is pronounced entirely differently: HERB becomes “Erb” (the name), NICE becomes “Niece” (the French city), POLISH becomes “POH-lish” (relating to Poland), and READING becomes “RED-ing” (the English town). These heteronyms — words spelled the same but pronounced differently depending on context — are a classic Connections trap.
The green group (WALLOP) also had some overlap risk. SOCK and PUNCH in particular pull double duty; SOCK fits naturally with clothing, and PUNCH could suggest a drink. Players who tried to group these with DECK (as in a deck of cards or a ship’s deck) or SLUG (as in a garden pest or a coin slug) into a different category likely burned a mistake.
The purple category PICK-UP ___ required you to find the unifying suffix: PICK-UP ARTIST, PICK-UP GAME, PICK-UP STICKS, and PICK-UP TRUCK. ARTIST was probably the last one most players landed on — “pickup artist” is a less literal phrase than the others.
Tips for Today’s Puzzle
- Ignore the most obvious meaning first. With today’s puzzle, words like DECK, SOCK, and PUNCH all have multiple common meanings. Don’t lock in on the first association that comes to mind.
- Test the purple category as a fill-in-the-blank. When you suspect a “PICK-UP ___” pattern, mentally plug each remaining word in. PICK-UP TRUCK and PICK-UP STICKS come quickly; PICK-UP GAME and PICK-UP ARTIST take a beat longer.
- Use the blue category as a process of elimination anchor. If you can confidently identify the four heteronyms (HERB, NICE, POLISH, READING), clearing them from the board removes several red herrings and makes the remaining three categories much cleaner.
- Start with yellow when you’re confident. POTTERY EQUIPMENT — CLAY, GLAZE, KILN, WHEEL — is today’s most straightforward group. Locking it in early frees up mental space for the harder categories.
More Daily Puzzle Answers
Looking for more puzzle help from today and recent days? Check out these posts:
- April 20, 2026 NYT Connections Puzzle #1044 Hints and Answers
- April 19, 2026 NYT Connections Puzzle #1043 Hints and Answers
- April 16, 2026 NYT Connections Puzzle #1040 Hints and Answers
- April 20, 2026 Wordle #1766 Hint and Answer
- April 20, 2026 NYT Strands Hints and Answers
- April 20, 2026 NYT Mini Crossword Hints and Answers
- April 20, 2026 NYT Pips Hints and Answers
Shahid Maqsood is a digital entrepreneur and SEO specialist focused on building engaging web experiences. He is the creator of DotWordle, combining creativity with smart, user-friendly design.
