NYT Connections No. 982 for Tuesday, February 17, 2026 blends quick-thinking wordplay with category logic. If you’re playing on the official New York Times Connections page , today’s board rewards players who look beyond surface meanings and focus on shared structures.
How to Play NYT Connections
NYT Connections challenges players to sort 16 words into four groups of four based on a shared theme. The goal is to identify the hidden relationships between words and correctly categorize them before running out of mistakes.
Step 1: Study the 16-word grid carefully. Look for obvious patterns first, such as synonyms, common phrases, or shared categories like food, actions, or slang.
Step 2: Select four words you believe belong together. Once selected, submit your guess to see if the grouping is correct.
Step 3: If the group is correct, those four words lock into place and are color-coded. The remaining words will stay on the board for you to sort.
Step 4: If the group is incorrect, you lose one of your allowed attempts. You typically have four mistakes available before the game ends.
Difficulty Levels: Each correct group is assigned a color that reflects difficulty:
🟨 Yellow – Usually the most straightforward category.
🟩 Green – Slightly more challenging connections.
🟦 Blue – Requires sharper pattern recognition.
🟪 Purple – Often the trickiest, involving wordplay or subtle themes.
The puzzle resets daily, so even if today’s board proves tricky, you can return tomorrow for a fresh challenge.
Some groups may feel obvious at first glance, but the puzzle cleverly mixes verbs, nouns and slang to blur the lines. Pay attention to tone and context — especially with the purple category.
Today’s Connections Hints
Yellow: Words associated with rapid movement.
Green: Familiar ingredients in Chinese cuisine.
Blue: Actions that mean to browse or move through quickly.
Purple: Words that begin with informal synonyms for “dud.”
Stronger Hint – One Word from Each Group
Yellow example: DART
Green example: SOY
Blue example: SKIM
Purple example: FLOPPY
Practice Connections
Select four words that belong together, then hit Submit. Correct sets lock in with color.
Today’s Connections Answers — Click to Reveal
Yellow – Rapid Movement: DART, FLASH, SPEED, ZIP
Green – Sauces in Chinese Cuisine: HOISIN, OYSTER, PLUM, SOY
Blue – Riffle Through: FLIP, LEAF, SKIM, THUMB
Purple – Starting With Synonyms for Dud: BOMBAY, BUSTLE, FLOPPY, MISSUS
