NYT Connections hints and answers today, May 23, 2026
The New York Times continues to expand the popularity of its daily puzzle lineup with NYT Connections , a word game that challenges players to identify hidden relationships between seemingly unrelated terms. The May 23 puzzle (#1077) offers a fun mix of obvious associations and clever misdirection, making it an engaging challenge for both casual and experienced players. Today’s board features categories linked to vintage hairstyles , urgency-related words, Marvel characters and a playful Purple category inspired by Star Wars movie titles. This guide includes spoiler-free hints, the complete answers and a quick explanation of how the puzzle works.
What is NYT’s ‘Connections’ game
Connections is a daily word puzzle from The New York Times that asks players to group related words together. The game uses four colour-coded difficulty levels — Yellow, Green, Blue and Purple — with Yellow generally being the easiest and Purple often involving more abstract or wordplay-based logic.
Players receive 16 words and must organise them into four groups of four. Each group shares a hidden connection that may involve themes, meanings, phrases, categories or linguistic tricks.
NYT Connections hints for today
NYT Connections answers for May 23, 2026
Here are the correct groupings for today’s puzzle:
How to play NYT Connections
Understand the objective
The puzzle presents 16 words arranged in a grid. Your goal is to organise them into four groups of four words that share a hidden connection.
Access the puzzle
A new Connections puzzle is released daily through The New York Times Games website and the NYT mobile app.
Begin analysing
Scan all 16 words carefully and look for the most obvious links first. Rearranging the board can often help reveal hidden patterns and eliminate confusion.
Submit your groups
Select four words that you believe belong together and submit them as a group. Correct answers are locked into place automatically.
Watch your mistakes
Players have a limited number of incorrect guesses before the game ends, so strategic elimination becomes important for tougher categories.
Other NYT games to explore
If you enjoy Connections, The New York Times also offers several other popular daily puzzle games :
Wordle: Guess a five-letter word in six attempts
Spelling Bee: Create as many words as possible using a specific set of letters
The Mini Crossword: A short daily crossword challenge
Strands: A word-search-inspired puzzle built around hidden themes
What is NYT’s ‘Connections’ game
Connections is a daily word puzzle from The New York Times that asks players to group related words together. The game uses four colour-coded difficulty levels — Yellow, Green, Blue and Purple — with Yellow generally being the easiest and Purple often involving more abstract or wordplay-based logic.
Players receive 16 words and must organise them into four groups of four. Each group shares a hidden connection that may involve themes, meanings, phrases, categories or linguistic tricks.
NYT Connections hints for today
- Yellow: Think vintage salon styles and lots of hairspray
- Green: Words you might use when choosing the faster or better option
- Blue: Superheroes and mutants from the Marvel universe
- Purple: Remove “The” from famous Star Wars film titles and look at what remains
NYT Connections answers for May 23, 2026
Here are the correct groupings for today’s puzzle:
- Yellow – HAIRDOS: BEEHIVE, BOUFFANT, CHIGNON, POMPADOUR
- Green – MORE READILY: FIRST, PREFERABLY, RATHER, SOONER
- Blue – MARVEL CHARACTERS: DAREDEVIL, HAWKEYE, NIGHTCRAWLER, WOLVERINE
- Purple – WORDS AFTER “THE” IN STAR WARS TITLES: EMPIRE, FORCE, LAST, PHANTOM
How to play NYT Connections
Understand the objective
The puzzle presents 16 words arranged in a grid. Your goal is to organise them into four groups of four words that share a hidden connection.
Access the puzzle
A new Connections puzzle is released daily through The New York Times Games website and the NYT mobile app.
Begin analysing
Scan all 16 words carefully and look for the most obvious links first. Rearranging the board can often help reveal hidden patterns and eliminate confusion.
Submit your groups
Select four words that you believe belong together and submit them as a group. Correct answers are locked into place automatically.
Watch your mistakes
Players have a limited number of incorrect guesses before the game ends, so strategic elimination becomes important for tougher categories.
Other NYT games to explore
If you enjoy Connections, The New York Times also offers several other popular daily puzzle games :
Wordle: Guess a five-letter word in six attempts
Spelling Bee: Create as many words as possible using a specific set of letters
The Mini Crossword: A short daily crossword challenge
Strands: A word-search-inspired puzzle built around hidden themes
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