Looking for a different day?A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Wednesday, July 1 (game #1116).Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints. What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.NYT Connections today (game #1117) - today's words(Image credit: New York Times)Today's NYT Connections words are… MOCKINGBIRDFIELD MOUSETOM-TOMCOURT JESTERMIMELOOKING GLASS TRACK RECORDBILLY GOATDIAMOND RINGSPECTACLESDAN DAN NOODLESCOPYCATTALKIERICH TEXTT-1000WATER CLOSETNYT Connections today (game #1117) - hint #1 - group hintsWhat are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?YELLOW: DuplicatingGREEN: The past in the presentBLUE: Begin with gentsPURPLE: Sporty beginnings Need more clues? We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…NYT Connections today (game #1117) - hint #2 - group answersWhat are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?YELLOW: THEY IMPERSONATE OTHER THINGSGREEN: OLD-TIMEY NAMES FOR THINGS WE STILL USEBLUE: STARTING WITH NICKNAMES PURPLE: STARTING WITH SPORTS VENUES Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.NYT Connections today (game #1117) - the answers(Image credit: New York Times)The answers to today's Connections, game #1117, are…YELLOW: THEY IMPERSONATE OTHER THINGS COPYCAT, MIME, MOCKINGBIRD, T-1000GREEN: OLD-TIMEY NAMES FOR THINGS WE STILL USE LOOKING GLASS, SPECTACLES, TALKIE, WATER CLOSETBLUE: STARTING WITH NICKNAMES BILLY GOAT, DAN DAN NOODLES, RICH TEXT, TOM-TOMPURPLE: STARTING WITH SPORTS VENUES COURT JESTER, DIAMOND RING, FIELD MOUSE, TRACK RECORDMy rating: HardMy score: PerfectIt’s not often I get a purple first, so I’m thrilled that I took a risk on DIAMOND RING as I thought that the group was strictly about athletics, rather than generally STARTING WITH SPORTS VENUES.After this triumph I took another risk – COPYCAT, MIME, and MOCKINGBIRD all seemed to be about copying, but with no other obvious tile I guessed that T-1000 was the name of a photocopying machine. T-1000 is, of course, not a photocopier but the terrifying killing machine in Terminator 2, played by the great Robert Patrick.Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Wednesday, July 1, game #1116)YELLOW: THINGS NAMED AFTER PLACES CHAMPAGNE, CHINA, COLOGNE, LIMERICKGREEN: BEST PICTURE WINNERS/NOMINEES CASABLANCA, CHICAGO, FARGO, MUNICHBLUE: PLACES IN COCKTAIL NAMES CUBA, LONG ISLAND, MOSCOW, SINGAPOREPURPLE: STARTING WITH COUNTRIES DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, GUINEA-BISSAU, INDIANAPOLIS, NIGERIAWhat is NYT Connections?NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.