Game #1165 landed on August 19 with a board that looked cordial on the surface but hid a punny sting in the tail. Four neat groups waited — one straightfoward, one picnic-related trap, one sports cluster, and a surprisingly sly homophone set.
If you breezed through the blue and green, the purple homophones likely made you stop and squint — and RHEO’s odd spelling was the real killer for a lot of solvers.
SPOILER WARNING: Below are full hints, group titles and the solved board for NYT Connections Game #1165 (2026-08-19). If you haven’t finished the puzzle yet, turn back now.
Today’s NYT Connections words
Sixteen words were on the board — grouped here in the order presented.
- PICNIC | BASKET | BREEZE | ANTS
- BLANKET | COCOA | PICKLE | FOOT
- SNAP | BASE | MASK | SEOUL
- OBSCURE | RHEO | CINCH | HIDE
Today’s NYT Connections hints
Short, spoiler-light nudges for each group.
- 🟡 Yellow: Four words that all mean something very easy.
- 🟢 Green: Four words you would use to hide or cover something.
- 🔵 Blue: Words that commonly appear before “ball” to name sports.
- 🟣 Purple: Words that sound like the titles of animated films.
Today’s NYT Connections group titles
- 🟡 Yellow: “PIECE OF CAKE”
- 🟢 Green: “CONCEAL”
- 🔵 Blue: “WORDS BEFORE “BALL” IN SPORT NAMES”
- 🟣 Purple: “HOMOPHONES OF CGI-ANIMATED FILMS”
What are today’s NYT Connections answers?
Here are the solved groups for Game #1165.
| Colour | Group | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 🟡 Yellow | PIECE OF CAKE | BREEZE, CINCH, PICNIC, SNAP |
| 🟢 Green | CONCEAL | BLANKET, HIDE, MASK, OBSCURE |
| 🔵 Blue | WORDS BEFORE “BALL” IN SPORT NAMES | BASE, BASKET, FOOT, PICKLE |
| 🟣 Purple | HOMOPHONES OF CGI-ANIMATED FILMS | ANTS, COCOA, RHEO, SEOUL |
Today’s Connections — expert analysis
The most natural entry point was the blue sports cluster: BASE, BASKET, FOOT and PICKLE scream “ball” — baseball, basketball, football, pickleball — so that gave many players an early, safe four-count. Likewise the green conceal set is tidy once you notice BLANKET, HIDE, MASK and OBSCURE all share the same covering/hiding sense.
The purple homophones were the trickiest. ANTS, COCOA, RHEO and SEOUL don’t belong together by meaning, only by sound — Antz, Coco, Rio and Soul — so solvers needed the homophone leap. RHEO in particular is an unusual spelling that made that group feel obscure; SEOUL is an obvious place name that players often don’t immediately hear as “soul,” and COCOA can be misread as the drink rather than heard as “Coco.” Those confusions, plus PICNIC and BLANKET crossing semantic lines (picnic is a “piece of cake” synonym while blanket is physically picnic-related), were the main decoys that cost lives.
If you were stuck, your first safe guess should have been BREEZE or CINCH — both are very tight synonyms for “easy” and less likely to be misfiled than PICNIC, which can lure you toward BLANKET. Avoid gambling on PICNIC early because of that BLANKET overlap; instead lock in the clear sports pairings or the straight synonyms to get momentum.
Difficulty: 3.5/5 — straightforward sports and conceal groups but a sly homophone set and a picnic-related decoy raised the challenge.
Yesterday’s NYT Connections answers (Game #1164)
Quick recap of Game #1164 for comparison.
- 🟡 Yellow (SEEN AT A MOVIE PREMIERE): LIMOUSINE, PAPARAZZI, RED CARPET, VELVET ROPE
- 🟢 Green (PJS): PETROLEUM JELLY, POETIC JUSTICE, PRACTICAL JOKE, PRIVATE JET
- 🔵 Blue (THINGS THAT ARE ORANGE): BASKETBALL, ORANGUTAN, SWEET POTATO, TRAFFIC CONE
- 🟣 Purple (THINGS THAT ARE GRITTY): COWBOY COFFEE, FILM NOIR, FLYERS MASCOT, SANDPAPER
What is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections is a daily word‑grouping puzzle where you’re given 16 words and must sort them into four groups of four based on shared themes or relationships. Groups can be based on meaning, wordplay, prefixes/suffixes, homophones and other patterns.
How to play NYT Connections
- Select words you think form a logical group; a correct set is locked and removed from play.
- Aim to find all four groups using as few guesses as possible; incorrect guesses reduce your score.
- Groups can be literal, figurative, or rely on wordplay (homophones, prefixes, suffixes, etc.).
Past week’s NYT Connections answers
Missed a day? Full solutions from earlier this week, newest first.
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
Game #1161 — August 15
- 🟡 EXHAUSTED: BEAT, FRIED, SPENT, WORN OUT
- 🟢 SEGMENT: LEG, PHASE, STAGE, STRETCH
- 🔵 ENDING IN UNITS OF LENGTH: CHAMOMILE, GRINCH, HOTFOOT, LANYARD
- 🟣 ENDING IN SYNONYMS FOR FOLLOW SECRETLY: BEANSTALK, EYESHADOW, HIGHTAIL, SOUNDTRACK
Game #1160 — August 14
- 🟡 BLACK-AND-YELLOW: BUMBLEBEE, CAUTION TAPE, CHARLIE BROWN, WOLVERINE
- 🟢 PLACES WHERE EVERYONE THINKS THE SAME WAYS: BUBBLE, ECHO CHAMBER, HIVEMIND, SILO
- 🔵 COMIC BOOK ARTIST’S TOOLS: BRISTOL BOARD, DIP PEN, INDIA INK, STRAIGHTEDGE
- 🟣 TRIANGLE LOGOS: BASS ALE, CITGO, DELTA AIR LINES, GOOGLE DRIVE
Game #1159 — August 13
- 🟡 PERSEVERE: CARRY ON, CONTINUE, MAKE IT, PERSIST
- 🟢 MOVE SLOWLY (UP TO): CREEP, EASE, EDGE, INCH
- 🔵 AIRLINE STATUS PERKS: CHECKED BAGS, LOUNGE, MILES, UPGRADE
- 🟣 “COLD” THINGS, IN IDIOMS: COMFORT, FEET, SHOULDER, TURKEY
Game #1158 — August 12
- 🟡 HOLD ONTO, AS A FEELING: FOSTER, HARBOR, MAINTAIN, NURSE
- 🟢 KINDS OF FROGS: BULL, GREEN, POISON DART, TREE
- 🔵 NBC SITCOM SURNAMES: BENES, BING, LEMON, SCOTT
- 🟣 STARTING WITH AFFIRMATIVE RESPONSES: FINE PRINT, GOODBYE, GREAT WHITE, OKAYAMA
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.
