Game #1169 on August 23 brought a tidy, slightly tricky Connections board that rewarded quick pattern-spotting and punished the familiar volcano trick. The 16 words felt arranged to bait obvious pairings while still leaving a clean path to all four groups.
If you hit a snag, you were probably staring at BAKING SODA and VINEGAR and wondering whether to build a mess or to clean one up.
SPOILER WARNING: The rest of this article names today’s groups and answers. Stop reading now if you want to solve without reveals.
Today’s NYT Connections words
Here are the 16 words on the board, in the order they appeared.
- ANTIFREEZE | VACUUM | BAKING SODA | VOLCANO
- VINEGAR | VODKA | TINDERBOX | POTATO BATTERY
- SKIING | HOME FRIES | CLUB SODA | POWDER KEG
- HYDROGEN PEROXIDE | BAZAAR | VISCHYSSOISE | TIME BOMB
Today’s NYT Connections hints
One-line, spoiler-light nudges for each group.
- 🟡 Yellow: Think things that can blow up or erupt, whether mechanical or geological.
- 🟢 Green: Look for words that hide a pair of identical vowels sitting side by side.
- 🔵 Blue: Edible or drinkable items that share a single common ingredient.
- 🟣 Purple: Everyday items you’d reach for when treating a stain.
Today’s NYT Connections group titles
- 🟡 Yellow: POTENTIALLY EXPLOSIVE THINGS
- 🟢 Green: DOUBLE VOWELS
- 🔵 Blue: MADE WITH POTATOES
- 🟣 Purple: HOUSEHOLD STAIN REMOVERS
What are today’s NYT Connections answers?
Here are the four solved groups and their member words.
| Colour | Group | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 🟡 Yellow | POTENTIALLY EXPLOSIVE THINGS | POWDER KEG, TIME BOMB, TINDERBOX, VOLCANO |
| 🟢 Green | DOUBLE VOWELS | ANTIFREEZE, BAZAAR, SKIING, VACUUM |
| 🔵 Blue | MADE WITH POTATOES | HOME FRIES, POTATO BATTERY, VISCHYSSOISE, VODKA |
| 🟣 Purple | HOUSEHOLD STAIN REMOVERS | BAKING SODA, CLUB SODA, HYDROGEN PEROXIDE, VINEGAR |
Today’s Connections — expert analysis
The natural entry point here was the DOUBLE VOWELS group: VACUUM and ANTIFREEZE scream it (the double U and double E are obvious), and once you spot VACUUM you’ll scan for the other doubled vowels — BAZAAR and SKIING — fairly quickly. That clean pattern lets you clear four safe tiles early and narrow the remaining options.
The hardest cluster was the HOUSEHOLD STAIN REMOVERS group. BAKING SODA and VINEGAR are classic partners in the children’s VOLCANO experiment, so those two are prime decoys for the POTENTIALLY EXPLOSIVE THINGS cluster that includes VOLCANO, POWDER KEG, TIME BOMB and TINDERBOX. CLUB SODA is another two-faced word: it’s both a cleaner for some stains and a beverage mixer that tempts you toward VODKA. VODKA itself was the main trap for the MADE WITH POTATOES group because vodka is often thought of as a drink — only after you spot HOME FRIES and POTATO BATTERY does VODKA fall neatly into place with VISCHYSSOISE as potato-derived items.
If you’re stuck on your first safe guess, pick VACUUM (or ANTIFREEZE) to lock down the double-vowel pattern; that clears obvious false friends like VINEGAR and BAKING SODA faster. Watch out for BAKING SODA and VINEGAR tempting you into the volcano line — they belong with the cleaners.
Difficulty: 3.5/5 — tidy groups with a few classic crossovers that require a cautious first guess.
Yesterday’s NYT Connections answers (Game #1168)
For reference, here are yesterday’s groups and words.
- 🟡 Yellow (CARPENTRY TOOLS): CHISEL, HAMMER, PLANE, SAW
- 🟢 Green (KINDS OF MELON): BITTER, MUSK, WATER, WINTER
- 🔵 Blue (GARDEN HOSE SETTINGS): CONE, JET, MIST, SHOWER
- 🟣 Purple (___ GIRLS OF POP CULTURE): GILMORE, GOLDEN, MEAN, SPICE
What is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections is a daily word game where you’re shown 16 words and must group them into four sets of four that share a common theme. Groups can be literal, linguistic, cultural or playful — and some words are designed to look like they fit in more than one category.
How to play NYT Connections
- Scan the board for obvious patterns (letter patterns, shared ingredients, categories).
- Make a safe guess to lock a group, then use process of elimination to narrow the rest.
- Be cautious of decoys — some words deliberately overlap themes to force second-guessing.
Past week’s NYT Connections answers
Missed a day? Full solutions from earlier this week, newest first.
Game #1167 — August 21
- 🟡 THINGS MOST ANIMALS NEED: NUTRITION, OXYGEN, SLEEP, WATER
- 🟢 CALLS TO BEGIN A PERFORMANCE: ACTION, CURTAIN UP, PLACES, SHOWTIME
- 🔵 ___ KIDS: COMEBACK, KARATE, SUNDANCE, WIMPY
- 🟣 ONCE IN A ___: BLUE MOON, GENERATION, LIFETIME, WHILE
Game #1166 — August 20
- 🟡 KINDS OF PIZZA: DIAVOLA, HAWAIIAN, MEAT LOVERS, WHITE
- 🟢 KINDS OF NUMBERS: ATOMIC, SERIAL, SOCIAL SECURITY, TELEPHONE
- 🔵 SIMILARLY SHAPED TYPOGRAPHICAL MARKS: APOSTROPHE, CEDILLA, COMMA, OKINA
- 🟣 STARTING WITH CHINESE ZODIAC ANIMALS: DRAGONFLY, OXFORD, PIGMENT, RATCHET
Game #1165 — August 19
- 🟡 PIECE OF CAKE: BREEZE, CINCH, PICNIC, SNAP
- 🟢 CONCEAL: BLANKET, HIDE, MASK, OBSCURE
- 🔵 WORDS BEFORE “BALL” IN SPORT NAMES: BASE, BASKET, FOOT, PICKLE
- 🟣 HOMOPHONES OF CGI-ANIMATED FILMS: ANTS, COCOA, RHEO, SEOUL
Game #1164 — August 18
- 🟡 SEEN AT A MOVIE PREMIERE: LIMOUSINE, PAPARAZZI, RED CARPET, VELVET ROPE
- 🟢 PJS: PETROLEUM JELLY, POETIC JUSTICE, PRACTICAL JOKE, PRIVATE JET
- 🔵 THINGS THAT ARE ORANGE: BASKETBALL, ORANGUTAN, SWEET POTATO, TRAFFIC CONE
- 🟣 THINGS THAT ARE GRITTY: COWBOY COFFEE, FILM NOIR, FLYERS MASCOT, SANDPAPER
Game #1163 — August 17
- 🟡 VIDEO CALL PLATFORMS: HUDDLE, MEET, TEAMS, ZOOM
- 🟢 SPREADSHEET FEATURES: FORMULA, FUNCTION, MACRO, SCRIPT
- 🔵 FIRST NAMES OF COUNTRY MUSIC LEGENDS: DOLLY, JOHNNY, PATSY, WILLIE
- 🟣 STARTING WITH PETS: BIRDIE, CATTLE, DOGIE, FISHEYE
Game #1162 — August 16
- 🟡 MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: CONCERT, GIG, SET, SHOW
- 🟢 PARTICIPANT: ACTOR, AGENT, PARTY, PLAYER
- 🔵 FAMILY RELATIONSHIP MODIFIERS: GRAND, GREAT, HALF, STEP
- 🟣 DESCRIPTORS FOR OUR HUMAN ANCESTORS: FROM NEANDER, HANDY, UPRIGHT, WISE
More daily puzzle help from HashTechWave
- Today’s NYT Strands hints, spangram and answers
- Today’s NYT Spelling Bee answers and pangram
- Today’s Wordle hints, clues and answer
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What time does a new NYT Connections puzzle unlock?
A brand-new puzzle drops every single night at midnight local time across your specific region’s time zone on NYT Connection official site.
Why do some words seem to fit into two different groups?
The puzzle is specifically designed to include “decoys” or overlapping vocabulary. Always look for a backup configuration of words before locking in an early guess to protect your attempt counter.
Can I review answers to older puzzles?
Yes — we keep the past week of solutions right here on this page. Scroll up to the “Past week’s NYT Connections answers” section for every recent grid, newest first, plus a full breakdown of yesterday’s puzzle.
