NYT Connections Hints for July 21, 2026 — Puzzle #1136

Sixteen words, four hidden categories. Hints reveal structure, then the grouping.

Hints and answers for NYT Connections #1136 on July 21, 2026: how many groups there are, a masked theme for each group, then the four categories one at a time, then all sixteen words and the full grouping.

Puzzle date: July 21, 2026 (2026-07-21) · #1136 · Source: the game's public daily data (https://www.nytimes.com/svc/connections/v2/2026-07-21.json). Hints are derived from that day's verified answer data — no invented clues, difficulty scores or word claims.

1. The shape of the puzzle

There are 4 categories of 4 words each (16 words total).

2. The four themes, masked

Each theme below keeps its word shapes and the first letter of every word:

K _ _ _ _ O _ T _ _ _
S _ _ _ _ _ _ _ D _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
E _ _ _ _ _ _ _ O _ A M _ _ _ _ _ _
T _ _ _

3. Reveal a theme, one at a time

Show theme 1

KINDS OF TOPS

Show theme 2

SOFTWARE DOWNLOADS

Show theme 3

ELEMENTS OF A MUSICAL

Show theme 4

TELE___

NYT Connections answer for July 21, 2026 — puzzle #1136

KINDS OF TOPS

TUBE, CROP, TANK, HALTER

SOFTWARE DOWNLOADS

DRIVER, APP, EXTENSION, PLUGIN

ELEMENTS OF A MUSICAL

MUSIC, BOOK, ORCHESTRATION, LYRICS

TELE___

GRAM, VISION, KINESIS, PROMPTER

Recent NYT Connections puzzles

Next puzzle · Previous puzzle

This site is an independent hints page. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by The New York Times. Game names are used only to describe the games.