Today’s NYT Connections #1164 for August 18, 2026 features 16 words split into four clever groups.
NYT Connections hints for August 18
- Yellow: Think about the people, vehicles and familiar sights you might encounter when a major film makes its glamorous debut.
- Green: The connection is not about what these things mean. Pay attention to the initials of each two-word phrase.
- Blue: Think of a bright color shared by a piece of sports equipment, an animal, a vegetable and a roadside object.
- Purple: These very different answers can all be described by the same adjective associated with a rough, grainy or hard-edged quality.
Movie premiere clue: Look for four things commonly seen around a glamorous movie premiere, from celebrity transportation to the area where photographers gather.
PJs clue: Look beyond the literal meanings of the answers. Each is a two-word phrase whose initials are P and J.
Orange clue: Find four things that are strongly associated with the color orange. They come from completely different areas, so color is the important link.
Gritty clue: The final group connects four unrelated things that can each reasonably be described as gritty. Think beyond physical texture and consider style or character as well.
Today’s NYT Connections answers
Reveal the Yellow Group
Category: Seen at a movie premiere
Answers: LIMOUSINE, PAPARAZZI, RED CARPET, VELVET ROPE
These four answers are familiar sights at a movie premiere. A limousine may bring stars to the event, paparazzi photograph arriving celebrities, the red carpet provides the famous entrance and a velvet rope helps control access around the venue.
Reveal the Green Group
Category: PJs
Answers: PETROLEUM JELLY, POETIC JUSTICE, PRACTICAL JOKE, PRIVATE JET
The trick here is in the initials. Petroleum jelly, poetic justice, practical joke and private jet can all be shortened to P.J., explaining the category name.
Reveal the Blue Group
Category: Things that are orange
Answers: BASKETBALL, ORANGUTAN, SWEET POTATO, TRAFFIC CONE
The common link is orange. A traditional basketball is orange, an orangutan is known for its orange-reddish coat, sweet potato commonly has orange flesh and a traffic cone is typically bright orange for visibility.
Reveal the Purple Group
Category: Things that are gritty
Answers: COWBOY COFFEE, FILM NOIR, FLYERS MASCOT, SANDPAPER
This is the puzzle’s playful final connection. Cowboy coffee can contain gritty grounds, film noir is associated with a gritty atmosphere, and sandpaper has an unmistakably gritty surface. The Flyers mascot completes the joke because the Philadelphia Flyers’ mascot is named Gritty.
Today’s solving lesson: The August 18 puzzle rewards players for changing the way they look at each word. Some connections come from familiar places or colors, while others depend on initials or a deliberately playful interpretation of a single adjective. The purple category is especially tricky because “gritty” works differently across its four answers.
Players can attempt the official daily puzzle and check their results on the New York Times Connections page.
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