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NYT Connections Puzzle #1128 — Answers & Solution
Monday, July 13, 2026 · Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Hard
🧩 NYT Connections Puzzle #1128 — Complete Answers
- 🟨 Yellow – Interrogate: EXAMINE, GRILL, PUMP, QUESTION
- 🟩 Green – Things with handles: BUCKET, DRAWER, MUG, UMBRELLA
- 🟦 Blue – Fictional cats: FIGARO, PUSS, SALEM, TOM
- 🟪 Purple – Starting with smooches: BUSSIN, KISSER, PECKISH, SMACKDOWN
📋 All 16 Words — Puzzle #1128
✅ Full Answers — Puzzle #1128
🟨 Yellow — Interrogate
🟩 Green — Things with handles
🟦 Blue — Fictional cats
🟪 Purple — Starting with smooches
🔍 Detailed Breakdown
🟨 Yellow (Easiest) — Interrogate
The easiest category in Puzzle #1128 is "Interrogate". The four words are:
- EXAMINE
- GRILL
- PUMP
- QUESTION
🟩 Green (Medium) — Things with handles
The medium category in Puzzle #1128 is "Things with handles". The four words are:
- BUCKET
- DRAWER
- MUG
- UMBRELLA
🟦 Blue (Hard) — Fictional cats
The hard category in Puzzle #1128 is "Fictional cats". The four words are:
- FIGARO
- PUSS
- SALEM
- TOM
🟪 Purple (Hardest) — Starting with smooches
The hardest category in Puzzle #1128 is "Starting with smooches". The four words are:
- BUSSIN
- KISSER
- PECKISH
- SMACKDOWN
🎯 Strategy Tips for Puzzle #1128
Start with Blue (fictional cats) — Figaro, Puss, Salem, and Tom are all clearly famous cat names with minimal overlap. Next, lock in Yellow (interrogate) — once you recognize EXAMINE, GRILL, PUMP, and QUESTION as interrogation synonyms, resist the urge to move GRILL or PUMP to the handles group. Green (things with handles) becomes easy after Yellow is solved. Save Purple for last — the "starts with a kiss word" pattern is nearly impossible to spot until you have only four words remaining.
⚠️ Red Herring Warning: Watch out for the "face" trap — MUG, KISSER, and PUSS can all mean "face" in slang, making you think they belong together. They don't — they're spread across three different groups. Also, GRILL and PUMP both have physical handles AND mean "to interrogate." They belong in the interrogate group (yellow), not the handles group (green). Don't let the double meanings pull you off track.
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