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Spoiler warning: This retrospective covers NYT Connections game #1022, published Sunday, March 29, 2026. If you are looking for that specific archived puzzle, use the clue ladder below before opening the answers. It is not the current daily puzzle.
Connections asks you to divide 16 words into four groups of four linked by a common theme, a format described by Graham Todd, Tim Merino, Sam Earle and Julian Togelius in their 2024 paper Missed Connections: Lateral Thinking Puzzles for Large Language Models.
March 29, 2026 Connections grid (#1022)
The 16 tiles were:
- GRAFFITI
- RECEIPT
- STRETCH
- HUSTLE
- PSYCHO
- ROBOT
- BEAUTY
- STENCIL
- POSTER
- CORPS
- TWIST
- QUESTION
- CHECK
- MASHED POTATO
- MURAL
- COUP
Try sorting them before reading further. The clues become progressively more specific.
Progressive hints
- Group 1: Art you might see while you’re walking.
- Group 2: Moves you might have seen on Soul Train.
- Group 3: Like pneumonia or pterodactyl.
- Group 4: Typically a permanent identifier.
Parade’s dated guide supplies this ladder of clues (Parade). TechRadar’s alternate wording is “Urban art formats,” “Boogie back in the day,” “Perfect silence,” and “Add Zuckerberg’s first name”; that last hint points directly toward Mark (TechRadar).
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Spoilers: the four answers
The complete solution, independently reported by Parade and TechRadar, is:
| Category | Words | Why they fit |
|---|---|---|
| IMAGES SEEN ON THE STREET | GRAFFITI, MURAL, POSTER, STENCIL | All are visual art or display formats you can encounter in public streetscapes. |
| RETRO DANCE CRAZES | HUSTLE, MASHED POTATO, ROBOT, TWIST | Each is the name of a dance associated with an earlier popular-music era. |
| SILENT “P” | CORPS, COUP, PSYCHO, RECEIPT | Each word contains a written p that is not pronounced. |
| ___ MARK | BEAUTY, CHECK, QUESTION, STRETCH | They form the phrases beauty mark, check mark, question mark and stretch mark. |
How the trickiest groups work
“Silent P”
The spelling connection is the key rather than the meanings. In corps, coup, psycho and receipt, the letter p appears but contributes no spoken sound. That makes this group easy to overlook while you are searching for semantic categories.
“___ Mark”
The remaining four words become familiar compounds when followed by mark: beauty mark, check mark, question mark and stretch mark. TechRadar’s “Add Zuckerberg’s first name” clue uses Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg as the prompt toward that shared completion.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What “today” means for this archived puzzle
The phrase “today’s Connections” depends on the reader’s local date because a new puzzle appears at midnight in each time zone, according to TechRadar’s guide. This page is specifically about Sunday, March 29, 2026, game #1022; later puzzles published on March 29 in another year are different games.
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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11The New York Times Help Center says eligible All Access and Games subscribers can use the Connections archive, with puzzles dating back to June 12, 2023. Subscription eligibility and archive terms can change, so check the current NYT Help Center information before relying on archive access.
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