NYT Connections Hints for Tuesday, July 21, 2026

Tuesday, July 21, 2026 puzzle #1136. Today's board groups styles of tops, downloadable software items, parts of a musical, and words completed by the prefix tele-.

Words: PLUGIN, GRAM, BOOK, PROMPTER, EXTENSION, ORCHESTRATION, KINESIS, VISION, APP, LYRICS, CROP, MUSIC, TUBE, TANK, DRIVER, HALTER

Spoiler-safe Connections hints

Yellow hint

Think of garment names that can all describe an upper-body piece.

Reveal Yellow category and answer

Kinds of tops: CROP, HALTER, TANK, TUBE

Crop, halter, tank, and tube each form the name of a familiar style of top.

Green hint

Look for items you might install to add a program or make hardware work.

Reveal Green category and answer

Software downloads: APP, DRIVER, EXTENSION, PLUGIN

An app, driver, extension, or plugin can all be downloaded and installed as software.

Blue hint

Picture the written and musical components credited in a stage production.

Reveal Blue category and answer

Elements of a musical: BOOK, LYRICS, MUSIC, ORCHESTRATION

A musical is built from its book, lyrics, music, and orchestration.

Purple hint

Place the same distance-related prefix before each remaining word.

Reveal Purple category and answer

Tele___: GRAM, KINESIS, PROMPTER, VISION