Connections Hints

Tuesday, July 28, 2026

Words from the NYT Connections puzzle — July 28, 2026

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Show the word gridAll 16 words — you figure out the groups
Show the themesCategory names only, no words revealed
One word per groupTheme name + one word per category
Full solutionAll words and explanations
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Word grid

All 16 words, sorted alphabetically. Group them into four categories of four.

ANNAPOLIS
BOBSLED
CAMPER
CAPTAIN
CLARKS
CONVERSE
CROCS
DIRECT
EMPIRE
EVEREST
FUJI
GALA
HEAD
HONEYCRISP
LEAD
OTTOMAN
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Themes

The four category names, easiest to hardest. No words revealed yet.

COMMANDStraightforward
HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM APPLESModerate
SHOE BRANDS STARTING WITH "C"Tricky
STARTING WITH PALINDROMIC NAMESDevious
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One word per group

Theme name plus one word from each category.

COMMANDStraightforward
WORDS MEANING TO BE IN CHARGE OR GIVE ORDERS+ 3 more…
HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM APPLESModerate
VARIETIES YOU MIGHT FIND AT AN ORCHARD OR GROCERY STORE+ 3 more…
SHOE BRANDS STARTING WITH "C"Tricky
FOOTWEAR BRANDS WHOSE NAMES BEGIN WITH THE LETTER C+ 3 more…
STARTING WITH PALINDROMIC NAMESDevious
EACH WORD BEGINS WITH A NAME THAT READS THE SAME FORWARDS AND BACKWARDS+ 3 more…
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Full solution
COMMANDStraightforward
CAPTAIN,DIRECT,HEAD,LEAD

CAPTAIN, DIRECT, HEAD, and LEAD all mean to command or be in authority over something

HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM APPLESModerate
EMPIRE,FUJI,GALA,HONEYCRISP

EMPIRE, FUJI, GALA, and HONEYCRISP are all popular apple varieties

SHOE BRANDS STARTING WITH "C"Tricky
CAMPER,CLARKS,CONVERSE,CROCS

CAMPER, CLARKS, CONVERSE, and CROCS are all shoe brands that start with the letter C

STARTING WITH PALINDROMIC NAMESDevious
ANNAPOLIS,BOBSLED,EVEREST,OTTOMAN

ANNAPOLIS starts with ANNA, BOBSLED starts with BOB, EVEREST starts with EVE, and OTTOMAN starts with OTTO — all palindromic names

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