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NYT Connections hints & answers: Sunday, August 9, 2026 (#1240)

Updated: Sunday, August 9, 2026 · New puzzle daily at midnight US Eastern Time (5am UK). · Puzzle editor: Wyna Liu.

This page has every level of help for the NYT Connections puzzle #1240 of Sunday, August 9, 2026: 3 spoiler-free hint tiers that narrow things down step by step, followed by the complete answers with explanations — each behind its own tap-to-reveal card, so nothing is shown until you choose.

Stuck on today's Connections? Work through the hint tiers below — each one gives away a little more, so you can get exactly as much help as you want and still keep the win.

New to Connections? The four answer groups are colour-coded by difficulty: 🟡 yellow is the easiest, then 🟢 green, 🔵 blue, and 🟣 purple — the trickiest, usually built on wordplay. The hints below use those colours.

1One word from each group▸
  • Yellow (easiest): one of its words is “CHANGE TACK”.
  • Green (easy): one of its words is “CAPS FOR SALE”.
  • Blue (tricky): one of its words is “BUDDY COP”.
  • Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay): one of its words is “BAD DREAM”.
2Category hints (no answers)▸
  • Yellow (easiest): the theme is “Take a different approach”.
  • Green (easy): the theme is “Classic children's books”.
  • Blue (tricky): the theme is “Movie subgenres”.
  • Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay): the theme is “Things people try to get out of”.
3One full group revealed▸
  • Yellow (easiest) — the connection is “Take a different approach”, and its four words are: CHANGE TACK, COURSE-CORRECT, RECALIBRATE, SHIFT GEARS.
★Today's full Connections answers, explained▸
  • Yellow (easiest) — the connection is “Take a different approach”. The words: CHANGE TACK, COURSE-CORRECT, RECALIBRATE, SHIFT GEARS.
  • Green (easy) — the connection is “Classic children's books”. The words: CAPS FOR SALE, CORDUROY, GOODNIGHT MOON, MADELINE.
  • Blue (tricky) — the connection is “Movie subgenres”. The words: BUDDY COP, NEO-NOIR, SPACE OPERA, SPAGHETTI WESTERN.
  • Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay) — the connection is “Things people try to get out of”. The words: BAD DREAM, ESCAPE ROOM, JURY DUTY, LABYRINTH.

Solved it (or spoiled it)? Play Connections on the official site — then come back tomorrow, or try another puzzle below.

Connections — common questions

What time does NYT Connections reset?

A new Connections puzzle is released daily at midnight US Eastern Time — that's 5am in the UK (4am during US daylight-saving transitions) and 12:00am for US East Coast players.

What do the Connections colours mean?

Yellow is the easiest group, then green, then blue, and purple is the trickiest — purple usually involves wordplay such as homophones, hidden words or 'words before/after X'.

How many mistakes are allowed in Connections?

You can make four mistakes before the puzzle ends. If you see 'one away…', exactly three of your four selected words belong together.

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