Below: the Melio Connections puzzle for Thursday, July 30, 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 30, 2026 below are the Melio answers, not the NYT ones.
The 16 words
EURO
MARTINI
POUND
BEYONCE
NEGRONI
YEN
BLACK
BANKSY
MARGARITA
GREEN
DOLLAR
OOLONG
CHAMOMILE
MOJITO
BOWIE
MADONNA
Hint ladder
Spoiler warning
Stage 1: letter spread
Today's 16 words are spread across the alphabet. The most common starting letters are B (4×), M (4×), D (1×), E (1×).
Stage 2: yellow theme
The yellow group's theme is "Currencies". 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: DOLLAR, EURO, YEN, POUND.
DOLLAREUROYENPOUND
Stage 4: all four themes
The four categories, in order from easiest to hardest, are: Yellow (easiest): "Currencies" · Green: "Types of tea" · Blue: "Classic cocktails" · Purple (trickiest): "Mononyms".
Stage 5: full solution
Below is the full grouping; each row is one category.