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Today's NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for April 7, #1031

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for April 7, No. 1031.

Headshot of Gael Cooper
Headshot of Gael Cooper
Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
Expertise Breaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, and generational studies Credentials
  • Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year"​ award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Gael Cooper
2 min read
NYT word games connections

Read on for today's Connections answers.

 James Martin/CNET

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today's Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today's NYT Connections puzzle is kind of tough. I was pretty proud that I figured out the purple category right away. Read on for clues and today's Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today's Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today's Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: You vs. me.

Green group hint: I'm all for that!

Blue group hint: Pick an option.

Purple group hint: Not death, but...

Answers for today's Connections groups

Yellow group: Competition.

Green group: On board.

Blue group: Words for unspecified choices.

Purple group: ____ life.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today's Connections answers?

completed NYT Connections puzzle for April 7, 2026

The completed NYT Connections puzzle for April 7, 2026.

 NYT/Screenshot by CNET

The yellow words in today's Connections

The theme is competition. The four answers are battle, clash, contest and match.

The green words in today's Connections

The theme is on board. The four answers are down, game, in and willing.

The blue words in today's Connections

The theme is words for unspecified choices. The four answers are another, either, neither or one.

The purple words in today's Connections

The theme is ____ life. The four answers are after, low, night and wild.

Toughest Connections puzzles

We've made a note of some of the toughest Connections puzzles so far. Maybe they'll help you see patterns in future puzzles.

#5: Included "things you can set," such as mood, record, table and volleyball.

#4: Included "one in a dozen," such as egg, juror, month and rose.

#3: Included "streets on screen," such as Elm, Fear, Jump and Sesame.

#2: Included "power ___" such as nap, plant, Ranger and trip.

#1: Included "things that can run," such as candidate, faucet, mascara and nose.