Below: the Melio Connections puzzle for Thursday, July 9, 2026, a progressive hint ladder so you can work toward the solution without spoiling it, and the full color-coded grouping if you want the answer outright.
Heads up: Melio’s Connections grids are independently authored. The answers for Thursday, July 9, 2026 below are the Melio answers, not the NYT ones.
The 16 words
SAMBA
BLT
WALTZ
AMBER
BANANA
CORAL
GRAPE
WRAP
CLUB
APPLE
IVORY
REUBEN
SALSA
INDIGO
TANGO
CHERRY
Hint ladder
Spoiler warning
Stage 1: letter spread
Today's 16 words are spread across the alphabet. The most common starting letters are C (3×), A (2×), B (2×), S (2×).
Stage 2: yellow theme
The yellow group's theme is "Fruits". That's the easiest grouping; pick the four words that fit and you're a quarter of the way through.
Stage 3: yellow group reveal
The four yellow words are: APPLE, BANANA, CHERRY, GRAPE.
APPLEBANANACHERRYGRAPE
Stage 4: all four themes
The four categories, in order from easiest to hardest, are: Yellow (easiest): "Fruits" · Green: "Dance styles" · Blue: "Shades that share names" · Purple (trickiest): "Sandwich types".
Stage 5: full solution
Below is the full grouping; each row is one category.