Connections #1040 Hints And Answers For Today's NYT Puzzle Thursday, April 16, 2026

Connections is a web-based daily puzzle created by The New York Times in 2023. The daily puzzles are written by the NYT's crossword editor, Wyna Liu. Connections is a fun exercise on association: you are given an interactive grid of sixteen words, and the objective is to correctly link four words under the same idea, with four groups in total.

How To Play

• Access the daily NYT Connections puzzle here, and press ‘Play'.
• You will be presented with a 4×4 interactive word grid. To start, you select four words and press the ‘Submit' button below the grid. You can unselect words by clicking on the selected word again.
• If you feel stuck, you can press the ‘Shuffle' button below the grid. You might see new connections by rearranging the words in the grid.
• You are allowed up to four mistakes, so think carefully!

The puzzle consists of four color-coded groups, progressing in complexity from simple ideas to specific terminology and wordplay. Yellow () is the simplest, followed by Green (), then Blue (), and ending with Purple () as the most complex.

Each daily puzzle is the same for everyone and resets after midnight in your local time zone, giving you more ways to interact with people around the world.

Hints For Today's Connections

Here are minor hints that might help you find the correct solution:

• Yellow – To Prod
• Green – Temperature Control
• Blue – Female Superhero
• Purple – Preceded By A "Helping Hand"

Connections Categories For Today

If you need a bit more push, here are the actual categories for today:

• Yellow – Tease
• Green – Thermostat Settings
• Blue – Features Of A Catwoman Costume
• Purple – Training ___

Beyond this point is spoiler territory, so tread lightly!

Connections Answers For Today, Puzzle #1040

• Yellow – Tease
  
  NEEDLE, RIB, RIDE, ROAST
• Green – Thermostat Settings
  
  AUTO, COOL, FAN, HEAT
• Blue – Features Of A Catwoman Costume
  
  BODYSUIT, CLAWS, MASK, WHIP
• Purple – Training ___
  
  BRA, CAMP, DAY, WHEELS

If you're interested in Connections, you can check out the NYT's Connections archive for more puzzles to try!

Stay tuned here at GameDaily for daily hints and answers for Connections!

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This story was originally published April 15, 2026 at 8:30 PM.