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Last Updated: July 31, 2026 | Fact-Checked: ✅ Verified | ✉️ Contact the Author
🧩 NYT Connections Answers Today — July 31, 2026 (Puzzle #1146)
Here are the complete answers for today's NYT Connections #1146:
- 🟨 Yellow – CONSTRUCT: FASHION, MODEL, MOLD, SHAPE
- 🟩 Green – SUPER MARIO FIGURES: DINOSAUR, MUSHROOM, PLUMBER, PRINCESS
- 🟦 Blue – FRUITS PLUS STARTING LETTER: DAPPLE, JDATE, SLIME, SPEAR
- 🟪 Purple – STARTING WITH MERRIMENTS: CHEERIOS, FUNGUS, GLEEK, JOYSTICK
Want to try solving it on your own first? Scroll down for progressive spoiler-free hints before reading the full category breakdown.
Welcome to today's NYT Connections hints and answers guide for Friday, July 31, 2026. Today's Puzzle #1146 features Nintendo gaming icons, clever fruit prefix wordplay, verbs for crafting objects, and words starting with cheerful merriments. Below you'll find progressive hints, red herring alerts, and full per-word explanations!
📌 Key Takeaways — Puzzle #1146
- Date: Friday, July 31, 2026
- Puzzle Number: #1146
- Overall Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐ (Medium–Hard)
- Trickiest Group: Purple (Words Starting with Merriment Synonyms)
- Easiest Group: Yellow (Verbs Meaning to Form or Construct)
- Red Herring Alert: Don't group MUSHROOM with FUNGUS, or JOYSTICK with PLUMBER!
📖 In This Guide
🔮 Word Hints Today — Puzzle #1146
Tap any word in the grid below to view a spoiler-free hint explaining how it functions in today's puzzle.
Verb meaning to form, shape, or craft something out of raw materials.
💡 Spoiler-Free Category Hints
Prefer to figure things out step-by-step? Use these progressive category hints:
🟨 Yellow Group Hint
Theme: Verbs that mean to build, form, craft, or outline an object into a specific structure.
🟩 Green Group Hint
Theme: Iconic character roles, species, and figures from Nintendo's Super Mario franchise.
🟦 Blue Group Hint
Theme: Everyday English words created by adding a single letter to the front of a fruit name.
🟪 Purple Group Hint
Theme: Words whose first few letters spell out a synonym for happiness, amusement, or merriment.
🔓 Progressive Category Reveal
Need a partial reveal? Click the buttons below to uncover hints and answers step-by-step.
⚠️ Traps & Misdirects in Puzzle #1146
Don't fall for biological or gaming overlaps! While MUSHROOM and FUNGUS are both fungi, Mushroom belongs to Super Mario Figures (Toad), while Fungus starts with 'FUN' in the Purple group! Similarly, JOYSTICK sounds like a Super Mario gaming controller, but it actually starts with 'JOY' (a merriment)!
🔑 One-Word Theme Hints
🔥 Two-Away Hints
| Group | 2 Words Revealed | Can You Find the Rest? |
|---|---|---|
| 🟨 Yellow | FASHION, MOLD | Find 2 other verbs meaning to construct or shape |
| 🟩 Green | PLUMBER, PRINCESS | Which 2 other Super Mario figures fit here? |
| 🟦 Blue | DAPPLE, SPEAR | Notice (D)+APPLE and (S)+PEAR. What are the other two? |
| 🟪 Purple | CHEERIOS, JOYSTICK | Which 2 other words start with CHEER / FUN / GLEE / JOY? |
✅ Full Answers — NYT Connections #1146
Here is the complete solution for NYT Connections Puzzle #1146 (July 31, 2026):
🟨 Yellow — CONSTRUCT
🟩 Green — SUPER MARIO FIGURES
🟦 Blue — FRUITS PLUS STARTING LETTER
🟪 Purple — STARTING WITH MERRIMENTS
🔍 Per-Word Explanations & Wordplay Breakdown
🟨 Yellow (Easiest) — CONSTRUCT
FASHION
Verb meaning to give form or shape to something (e.g. fashioning a tool out of stone).
MODEL
Verb meaning to sculpt or shape a three-dimensional figure or object in clay or wax.
MOLD
To form or shape a malleable substance into a particular pattern or container.
SHAPE
Verb meaning to give a specific physical outline or form to a material.
🟩 Green (Medium) — SUPER MARIO FIGURES
DINOSAUR
Refers to Yoshi (and Yoshi's species), the green dinosaur companion in Nintendo's Super Mario franchise.
MUSHROOM
Refers to Toad (the mushroom person) and the iconic Super Mushroom power-ups in Mario games.
PLUMBER
Mario and Luigi's signature profession as Mushroom Kingdom's hero plumbers.
PRINCESS
Princess Peach (and Princess Daisy), the royal rulers of the Mushroom and Sarasaland kingdoms.
🟦 Blue (Hard) — FRUITS PLUS STARTING LETTER
DAPPLE
D + APPLE (The fruit 'Apple' with the letter 'D' placed at the front).
JDATE
J + DATE (The fruit 'Date' with the letter 'J' placed at the front).
SLIME
S + LIME (The citrus fruit 'Lime' with the letter 'S' placed at the front).
SPEAR
S + PEAR (The fruit 'Pear' with the letter 'S' placed at the front).
🟪 Purple (Hardest) — STARTING WITH MERRIMENTS
CHEERIOS
Starts with CHEER (synonym for joy, happiness, or merriment).
FUNGUS
Starts with FUN (synonym for amusement, merriment, or enjoyment).
GLEEK
Starts with GLEE (synonym for high delight, merriment, or joy).
JOYSTICK
Starts with JOY (synonym for happiness, merriment, or celebration).
