NEW YORK — Word game enthusiasts tackling the New York Times Connections puzzle on Thursday, April 23, 2026, faced a clever mix of geography, literature and pop culture as puzzle No. 1,047 delivered satisfying "aha" moments alongside one particularly devious category that left many scrambling for their final guesses.

The New York Times Connections
The New York Times Connections

The daily brain-teaser, which challenges players to group 16 words into four themed sets of four, featured categories ranging from straightforward borders to a nostalgic nod to 1980s music that tripped up even seasoned solvers. Early data suggested the puzzle sat at medium difficulty, with many players losing one or two lives before cracking the toughest group.

Here are the complete NYT Connections answers for April 23, 2026:

**Yellow (easiest):** Border — FLANK, NEIGHBOR, SKIRT, TOUCH
These words all describe ways to edge, bound or come close to something, whether physically or metaphorically.

**Green:** Kinds of fiction — HISTORICAL, LITERARY, PULP, SCIENCE
A clean sweep of popular literary genres that fill bookstore shelves and inspire countless adaptations.

**Blue:** Words in a planetary mnemonic — EDUCATED, MOTHER, MY, VERY
The familiar "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Noodles" (or variations) used by generations to remember the order of planets from the sun.

**Purple (hardest):** Starting with four-letter '80s bands — ASIAGO, DEVOTE, TOTORO, WHAMMY
This cheeky category required recognizing that each word begins with the name of a well-known 1980s band: ASIA + GO (Asiago), DEVO + TE (Devote), TO + TOTO + RO (Totoro, the beloved Studio Ghibli character whose name starts with the band Toto), and WHAM + MY (Whammy, as in the Wham! hit or the board game). The creative wordplay delighted some and frustrated others.

The 16 words in Thursday's grid were: FLANK, PULP, VERY, WHAMMY, NEIGHBOR, SKIRT, TOUCH, HISTORICAL, LITERARY, SCIENCE, EDUCATED, MOTHER, MY, ASIAGO, DEVOTE, TOTORO.

Many players reported spotting the yellow "border" group quickly, as the words share clear spatial or relational meanings. The green fiction genres followed logically for book lovers, though some initially mixed "pulp" with other categories. The blue mnemonic group clicked for those who recalled elementary school astronomy lessons, providing a satisfying educational tie-in.

The purple category, however, generated the most buzz online. Connections often saves its most obscure or punny themes for last, and Thursday's entry rewarded knowledge of both classic '80s acts — Asia, Devo, Toto and Wham! — and clever prefixing. Social media lit up with reactions ranging from "Brilliant!" to "Who thinks of these things?" One Reddit thread in r/NYTConnections filled rapidly with users sharing their emoji grids and debating whether the purple was fair or overly niche.

Created by editor Will Shortz and a team of constructors, Connections has become a morning ritual for millions since its 2023 launch. The game presents 16 seemingly unrelated words in a 4x4 grid. Players select four that share a common thread, with the puzzle confirming correct groups by color: yellow for the simplest, then green, blue and purple for the most challenging. Mistakes cost lives, and four errors end the game.

Thursday's puzzle rewarded both broad vocabulary and cultural literacy. The planetary mnemonic tapped into a shared childhood memory for many Americans, while the fiction genres tested literary awareness. The border words offered an accessible entry point, preventing the puzzle from feeling overwhelmingly difficult despite the tricky purple.

Strategies shared by top solvers emphasized starting with obvious clusters. Looking for repeated themes such as genres, synonyms or cultural references often unlocks the easier groups first, preserving lives for the harder ones. On April 23, beginning with potential border or genre words proved effective for most who succeeded in three or fewer mistakes.

The puzzle arrived on the heels of Wednesday's Connections #1046, which featured pottery equipment, synonyms for "wallop," heteronyms and "pick-up ___" phrases. That sequence illustrated the NYT Games team's skill at varying difficulty and theme types across the week, keeping the experience fresh.

For players who missed Thursday's solution, the New York Times offers a companion article with hints and community discussion. Many turn to spoiler-free hint sites or friends for gentle nudges before checking full answers. The game's shareable emoji results — sequences of colored squares — continue to flood social media each morning, fostering friendly competition and communal troubleshooting.

Connections pairs well with the NYT's other daily games, including Wordle, which on April 23 delivered "TWEET" as its answer. Together, the suite provides a compact mental workout that fits neatly into commutes or coffee breaks. Educators note that such games sharpen pattern recognition, vocabulary and lateral thinking skills in an engaging, low-pressure format.

Difficulty varies daily, but April 23's edition struck a balance that satisfied casual players while challenging dedicated fans. Those who nailed the purple category on the first try often credited familiarity with 1980s pop music or a lucky guess linking "WHAMMY" to Wham! and "TOTORO" to Toto. Others admitted needing the reveal after exhausting other possibilities.

The game's accessibility contributes to its massive popularity. No subscription is required for the basic daily puzzle, though NYT Games subscribers gain additional perks such as archives, ad-free play and companion content. Since its debut, Connections has inspired fan theories, strategy guides and even merchandise celebrating memorable categories.

As Thursday progressed, reaction threads highlighted the puzzle's clever construction. One solver posted, "Got everything in three mistakes but the purple had me laughing once I saw it — Wham! my goodness!" Another quipped, "Educated Mother saved me after I stared at VERY and MY for too long."

Looking ahead, Friday's Connections #1048 will reset the grid with fresh challenges. Players hoping to extend streaks or rebuild after a loss can look forward to new themes that continue the game's tradition of blending everyday language with surprising connections.

Whether you breezed through No. 1,047 in perfect form or needed a few hints to conquer the '80s band starters, Thursday's puzzle exemplified why Connections remains a standout in the crowded word-game landscape. It rewards knowledge without requiring expertise, encourages creative thinking and delivers that signature dopamine hit when the final group clicks into place.

For those still building their streak or just discovering the game, resources abound: official hints on the NYT site, community discussions on Reddit and strategy articles from gaming outlets. The key, veterans say, is patience and willingness to see words in multiple contexts — exactly what made Thursday's planetary mnemonic and music-tinged purple so rewarding once solved.

As millions shared their results and debated the fairness of linking Studio Ghibli's Totoro to the band Toto, one thing remained clear: NYT Connections continues to unite players across generations and time zones through the simple joy of finding hidden threads among ordinary words.