Tritone
A tritone is a musical interval spanning three whole tones, or three whole steps.
Why now
→TRITONE appeared in NYT Connections #1175 on August 29, 2026, with AT LAST, HERALD and HYDRANT.
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NYT Connections
67 explanations
Coded
Online, -coded is used to say that a person, character, style or idea has recognizable traits or associations linked with something else. For example, something described as “Barbie-coded” strongly suggests a Barbie-like look or vibe.
Why now
→CODED appeared in NYT Connections #1174 on August 28, 2026, with BRO, ERA and MAXXING.
Maxxing
-Maxxing is an internet-slang combining form for making a particular activity or part of life as effective or optimized as possible, sometimes to an extreme. It appears in terms such as looksmaxxing and sleepmaxxing.
Why now
→MAXXING appeared in NYT Connections #1174 on August 28, 2026, alongside BRO, CODED and ERA.
Brock
Brock is a British word for a badger, but that is not the trick in NYT Connections #1173. In this puzzle, BROCK is wordplay: B + ROCK.
Why now
→BROCK appeared in NYT Connections #1173 on August 27, 2026, with NEMO, SPUNK and WRAP. The group used wordplay rather than the ordinary dictionary sense of each full string.
Dove gray
Dove gray is a light purplish-gray color. In NYT Connections #1173, the grid word DOVE refers to this color—not the bird or the Dove brand.
Why now
→DOVE appeared in NYT Connections #1173 on August 27, 2026, alongside ASH, PEWTER and SLATE.
Pewter
Pewter is a tin-based metal alloy. The word also names a bluish-gray color—the color meaning used in NYT Connections #1173.
Why now
→PEWTER appeared in NYT Connections #1173 on August 27, 2026, in a group with ASH, DOVE and SLATE.
Spunk
Spunk can mean courage, spirit or liveliness. In NYT Connections #1173, the word also functions as wordplay: S + PUNK.
Why now
→SPUNK appeared in NYT Connections #1173 on August 27, 2026, with BROCK, NEMO and WRAP. The group used each full string as a starting letter plus a music genre.