NYT Connections Game #1170 on August 24 served up a board that mixed obvious sets with one that demanded a phonetic trick — perfect daily fare for players who like a little misdirection. Today’s puzzle rewarded quick fish-spotting and punished literal reading.
If you stalled on the purple quartet, you weren’t alone — that group required hearing the words, not just reading them.
SPOILER WARNING: The sections below reveal today’s categories and exact answers. If you want to keep solving blind, stop now.
Today’s NYT Connections words
Sixteen words were on the board — grouped here in the order they appeared.
- SOLE | DESERVE | MAIN | EYELET
- HEEL | PRIME | EX-LOVE | ARCH
- MULLET | KAYFABE | BESET | PIKE
- FACE | TANG | CHIEF | JOBBER
Today’s NYT Connections hints
Spoiler-light nudges to help you prioritize.
- 🟡 Yellow: Look for aquatic species — some entries also appear in other contexts, which makes them tempting decoys.
- 🟢 Green: These four words all convey the idea of being first, main or foremost in one way or another.
- 🔵 Blue: Terms from the world of professional wrestling — roles, outcomes and insider jargon.
- 🟣 Purple: Each word contains a spoken single-letter homophone plus a tennis-related term when you parse it aloud.
Today’s NYT Connections group titles
- 🟡 Yellow: FISH
- 🟢 Green: PRINCIPAL
- 🔵 Blue: PRO-WRESTLING LINGO
- 🟣 Purple: LETTER HOMOPHONE PLUS TENNIS TERM
What are today’s NYT Connections answers?
Here are the four solved groups and their members.
| Colour | Group | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 🟡 Yellow | FISH | MULLET, PIKE, SOLE, TANG |
| 🟢 Green | PRINCIPAL | ARCH, CHIEF, MAIN, PRIME |
| 🔵 Blue | PRO-WRESTLING LINGO | FACE, HEEL, JOBBER, KAYFABE |
| 🟣 Purple | LETTER HOMOPHONE PLUS TENNIS TERM | BESET, DESERVE, EX-LOVE, EYELET |
Today’s Connections — expert analysis
The natural entry point was the yellow FISH set: MULLET, PIKE, SOLE and TANG are straightforward once you spot two or three fish names. MULLET and TANG are unambiguous, and PIKE locks the theme quickly — that makes the quartet the safe early remove.
The trickiest cluster was the purple group, LETTER HOMOPHONE PLUS TENNIS TERM, because it asks you to parse the sounds rather than the meanings. Once you hear them, the pattern clicks: BESET (B + set), DESERVE (D + serve), EX-LOVE (X + love) and EYELET (I + let). Several words on the board doubled as tempting decoys: SOLE and HEEL read like shoe parts so they can lure you away from the fish or wrestling connections; HEEL and FACE are both wrestling terms, which makes choosing between the shoe set and the pro-wrestling set risky if you guess prematurely; DESERVE and BESET look like ordinary verbs and can be easy to overlook as phonetic constructs. If you get stuck early, spend your first safe guess on the fish set — pick MULLET or PIKE to establish that clean group and reduce ambiguity.
Difficulty: 3.5/5 — one clever, phonetic group raises the overall challenge.
Yesterday’s NYT Connections answers (Game #1169)
For comparison, here are yesterday’s solved groups.
- 🟡 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, VICHYSSOISE, VODKA
- 🟣 Purple (HOUSEHOLD STAIN REMOVERS): BAKING SODA, CLUB SODA, HYDROGEN PEROXIDE, VINEGAR
What is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections is a daily word-association puzzle where players sort 16 words into four related groups. Each group shares a common thread, but the difficulty comes from decoys and overlapping meanings.
Players must identify all four groups without prior hints; the game rewards pattern recognition, lateral thinking and a careful ear for puns and phonetics.
How to play NYT Connections
- Select four words that you think form a related group.
- Confirmed groups are removed; incorrect guesses cost you progress, so avoid risky picks early.
- Repeat until all 16 words are grouped into four correct categories.
Past week’s NYT Connections answers
Missed a day? Full solutions from earlier this week, newest first.
Game #1168 — August 22
- 🟡 CARPENTRY TOOLS: CHISEL, HAMMER, PLANE, SAW
- 🟢 KINDS OF MELON: BITTER, MUSK, WATER, WINTER
- 🔵 GARDEN HOSE SETTINGS: CONE, JET, MIST, SHOWER
- 🟣 ___ GIRLS OF POP CULTURE: GILMORE, GOLDEN, MEAN, SPICE
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
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.
