NYT Connections Puzzle #776: Categories, Clues, and Full Answer for July 26, 2025

If you've found yourself staring at the Connections grid today wondering how on earth these 16 words are supposed to be related, you’re not alone. Puzzle #776 isn’t the hardest we’ve seen, but it’s definitely the kind that can trip you up—especially in the last two categories.

In case you're new here or just stuck, here’s a quick rundown of how Connections works, followed by today's hints and answers.

How to Play Connections

Connections is one of the newer games from The New York Times, and it’s become part of many people’s daily routine. The idea is simple but deceptive: you get a grid of 16 words, and your goal is to sort them into four groups of four, based on shared themes.

Sounds easy, right? It’s not always that straightforward. Some categories are super obvious, while others are more obscure or involve wordplay. You only get four chances to make mistakes, so a few bad guesses can end your game early.

The puzzle uses color-coding to show difficulty:

• Yellow is usually the easiest
• Green’s a little trickier
• Blue gets more abstract
• Purple tends to be the most confusing

There’s only one correct solution each day, so even if you spot a different grouping that makes sense, the game won’t count it unless it matches the intended answer.

Connections #776 – July 26, 2025: Today’s Categories

Let’s move to the clues. If you’re still trying to solve today’s puzzle and don’t want the full answer yet, here’s a quick set of hints to help guide you:

• Yellow: Different ways of moving on foot
• Green: Ingredients you'd likely find in a certain famous fried chicken recipe
• Blue: Various shades in the green color family
• Purple: Shortened names or abbreviations linked to European capital cities

These hints might help jog your memory or steer your thinking in the right direction.

Still stuck? Then scroll down for the complete answers.

Full Solution for NYT Connections Puzzle #776

Here’s the full breakdown of today’s puzzle:

• TRAVEL ON FOOT – HIKE, MARCH, TRAMP, TREK
• HERBS AND SPICES – ANISE, DILL, MACE, SAGE
• SHADES OF GREEN – BOTTLE, HUNTER, KELLY, PEA
• STARTS OF EUROPEAN CAPITALS – COPE, LUXE, SARA, WARS

The first two groups probably came together easily. Walking-related words tend to stand out, and the herb group has a distinct vibe. But the last two? A bit trickier. The “shades of green” group might’ve looked like random colors at first, and the purple category really needed some mental digging—those are abbreviations for cities like Copenhagen, Luxembourg, Sarajevo, and Warsaw.