NYT Games • Daily Connections Guide
Today’s Connections is a classic “two straight, two sneaky” build: two categories are clean and concrete once you see them, while the other two tempt you into pairing words that feel right but don’t finish a full set of four. The quickest route is to secure one obvious group early, then use what’s left to expose the sound-based logic and the category that’s easier to feel than define.
If you want to try the board first and come back for help, open the official puzzle at The New York Times Connections. Below you’ll get layered hints (from gentle to stronger), a practice board you can tap through on mobile, and a tap-to-reveal full solution when you’re ready.
Hints
Group clues (easiest to hardest)
Yellow: Big, unmistakable signals that something is hilarious — not subtle, not quiet.
Green: One sound, multiple spellings — say these out loud and the group snaps into place.
Blue: Barnyard noise, specifically the kind you’d blame on a coop.
Purple: Stress-mode behavior labels — the full set includes one people often forget to name.
Hint 2 (stronger)
Listen test: One category is purely audio logic — if you’re staring and not hearing it, you’ll miss it.
Anchor tactic: Lock the cleanest “dictionary-shelf” style category first, then solve the remaining 12 like three mini-puzzles.
One word from each group
If you want to avoid spoilers, stop here and use the practice board below.
Practice Board
Tap to select exactly four words that belong together, then hit Check Group. If you’re wrong, clear and try a different combination. If you’re right, the group gets saved and removed from your choices.
Ready to Reveal the Answers?
Tap to reveal the full solution for Feb. 16, 2026 (#981)
Yellow — Knee slapper
Green — Homophones
Blue — Sounds a chicken makes
Purple — Stress responses
Clean solve path: grab the laughter set, then the homophone quartet (it’s unmistakable once spoken), and suddenly the remaining board separates neatly into “coop noise” and the full threat-response family.
Solve the Previous Connections Puzzle
Want to play yesterday’s board and compare your groups?
Open NYT Connections #980 (Feb 15, 2026)
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