Puzzle #1033 has arrived for April 9, 2026, and today’s New York Times word games board is sneakier than it first appears. Several words look like they belong together but pull you in the wrong direction — especially if you’re thinking too literally. Work through the hints carefully before jumping to the answers.
What Is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections is a daily word-grouping puzzle published by The New York Times. Players are given 16 words and must sort them into four groups of four, where every word in a group shares a common thread — a category. The game resets each day at midnight, and each puzzle is numbered sequentially.
Categories are color-coded by difficulty. Yellow is the easiest group, green is moderate, blue is harder, and purple is the most deceptive. The puzzle was developed with the help of associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu and has become one of the most popular daily games on the internet. You can play it on any web browser or mobile device.
How to Play
- Select four words you think belong to the same category and hit “Submit.”
- If all four are correct, that group is cleared from the board.
- A wrong guess counts as a mistake — you get four mistakes total before the game ends.
- Use the Shuffle button to rearrange the board if you need a fresh perspective.
- You can share your colored result grid on social media after completing the puzzle.
Category Hints
Not ready for the full answers? Here are vague clues to point you in the right direction without giving anything away:
🟨 Yellow — Words you might use to describe a dreary, heavy mood or atmosphere
🟩 Green — Think of something you’d apply to a wound or a sore to bring comfort
🟦 Blue — These words represent symbols or figures associated with the star signs
🟪 Purple — Describes someone in peak physical condition, but the ending sound has been quietly removed
Category Names
Getting closer? Here are the actual category names — still no words revealed:
🟨 GLOOMY
🟩 OINTMENT
🟦 ZODIAC SYMBOLS
🟪 MUSCULAR, MINUS “ED” SOUND
Take one more look at the board before scrolling down. The purple category in particular requires thinking about how words sound, not just what they mean.
Full Answers
Here are the complete solutions for NYT Connections #1033 on April 9, 2026:
🟨 GLOOMY: BLUE, DARK, DOWN, LOW
🟩 OINTMENT: BALM, CREAM, PASTE, RUB
🟦 ZODIAC SYMBOLS: ARCHER, FISH, GOAT, RAM
🟪 MUSCULAR, MINUS “ED” SOUND: JACK, RIP, SHRED, YOKE
What Made Today Tricky
Puzzle #1033 had several clever misdirections that could easily trip up even experienced players.
The word BLUE is the biggest trap — it sits in the GLOOMY category alongside DARK, DOWN, and LOW, all of which mean sad or dreary. But BLUE is also a color, and it’s also the name of the second-hardest category color. Players who overthink it may miss the obvious emotional meaning entirely.
The purple category is the most unusual: “MUSCULAR, MINUS ‘ED’ SOUND.” The trick is phonetic. JACKED, RIPPED, SHREDDED, and YOKED all mean muscular in gym slang — but each word has had its “-ed” sound stripped off, leaving JACK, RIP, SHRED, and YOKE. None of these look like fitness words at first glance, making this group the puzzle’s biggest head-scratcher.
GOAT also deserves a mention — it could easily be mistaken for slang (“Greatest of All Time”) before you realize it belongs with RAM, ARCHER, and FISH as zodiac symbols representing Capricorn, Aries, Sagittarius, and Pisces respectively.
Tips for Today
Here are four strategies specifically tailored to puzzle #1033:
- Start with ZODIAC SYMBOLS. If you know your zodiac signs, ARCHER (Sagittarius), FISH (Pisces), GOAT (Capricorn), and RAM (Aries) should click quickly. Clearing this group early frees up the board significantly.
- Don’t overthink BLUE. It belongs with the GLOOMY group — DARK, DOWN, and LOW. Despite its other associations, in this puzzle it simply means sad. Trust the obvious reading.
- Sound out the purple words. For the MUSCULAR category, say each word aloud and ask: does adding “-ed” to the end turn it into a fitness adjective? JACKED, RIPPED, SHREDDED, YOKED — yes. That’s your group.
- Watch out for PASTE and CREAM. Both could mislead you into thinking about cooking or cosmetics. Here, they belong squarely in the OINTMENT category alongside BALM and RUB — things you apply to the skin for relief.
More Daily Puzzle Answers
Looking for more puzzle help? Check out these recent answers on dotwordle.com:
- April 7, 2026 NYT Connections Puzzle #1031 Hints and Answers
- April 6, 2026 NYT Connections Puzzle #1030 Hints and Answers
- April 5, 2026 NYT Connections Puzzle #1029 Hints and Answers
- April 7, 2026 Wordle #1753 Hint and Answer
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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.
