Can’t find a way through today’s Connections puzzle? We’re here to help. First, we’ll give you some spoiler-free hints to nudge you in the right direction of the answers. If that isn’t enough, you can have one word from each category. Then, we’ll reveal the list of themes, followed by all of the answers. So, without further ado, here are all the hints, clues, and answers to today’s NYT Connections (#1,072, May 18, 2026)
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In This Article
What is Connections?
After Wordle, Connections is the New York Times’ most popular word game. The rules are simple, and the puzzle is very fun to solve. You are provided with a 4×4 grid where 4 common themes connect the 16 words. To solve the puzzle, you must find the common themes and sort the words into 4 groups of 4. The grid is designed with an increasing level of difficulty. The Yellow group is the easiest to spot, followed by Green, Blue, and Purple. The misdirects and red herrings can trip you up, but they also make the puzzle more fun. You can play the game on the NYT Games app or the official NYT website.
Here’s your grid for today
- WIKI
- POP
- SPLIT
- PADRE
- PERE
- LUMP
- BLOW
- CHEAP
- EARP
- PEAR
- CRACK
- ROYAL
- RED
- PAIR
- TWIN
- PARE
Hints for NYT Connections (#1,072) May 18, 2026
Let’s get you started with some general, spoiler-free hints.
- 🟡Yellow Group: They sound alike.
- 🟢Green Group: Break.
- 🔵Blue Group: Famous names in a popular American sport.
- 🟣Purple Group: When unscrambled, these words make a great salad.
One Word Per Category (Contains Spoilers)
Can’t seem to find an in? We’ll give you one word from each category.
- 🟡Yellow Group: Pair.
- 🟢Green Group: Blow.
- 🔵Blue Group: Padre.
- 🟣Purple Group: Cheap.
List of Themes (Major Spoilers)
Maybe getting to know the common themes among the words will help you spot them faster. Here are all the categories for today.
- 🟡Yellow Group: Homphones.
- 🟢Green Group: Rupture.
- 🔵Blue Group: MLB Player.
- 🟣Purple Group: Fruit Anagrams.
Answers to NYT Connections (#1,072) Today (May 18, 2026)
Close to waving the white flag? Fine, we’ll give you the answers.
🟡Yellow Group: Pair, Pare, Pear, Pere. (Homphones)
These answers were pretty straightforward and could be spotted right away. Pere and Padre are a misdirect.
🟢Green Group: Blow, Crack, Pop, Split. (Rupture)
This one didn’t require a lot of thinking either. Pretty standard verbs used to describe breaking something.
🔵Blue Group: Padre, Red, Royal, Twin. (MLB Player)
This is where it got dicey. Connected by a US-specific theme, these words refer to Major League Baseball (MLB) teams – San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, and Minnesota Twins.
🟣Purple Group: Cheap, Earp, Lump, Wiki. (Fruit Anagrams)
We hadn’t seen anagrams in Connections for a while, and this one sent us for a spin. Once arranged in the right order, these words come out as Peach, Pear, Plum, and Kiwi.
Answers to yesterday’s puzzle
- 🟡Yellow Group: Duct, Line, Main, Pipe. (Conduit)
- 🟢Green Group: Fleece, Hose, Squeeze, Stiff. (Swindle)
- 🔵Blue Group: Boil, Pour, Steep, Strain. (Tea-Making Verbs)
- 🟣Purple Group: Grade, Grammar, High, Primary. (‘School’ Modifiers)
Answers to NYT Connections (#1,070, May 16, 2026)
- 🟡Yellow Group: Coupe, Flute, Stein, Tumbler. (Glassware)
- 🟢Green Group: Fiddle, Mess, Play, Tinker. (Mess Around With)
- 🔵Blue Group: Allegro, Forte, Largo, Piano. (Music Performance Directions)
- 🟣Purple Group: Bassoon, Belfast, Nesquick, Thermostat. (Ending in Synonyms for “ASAP”)
Answers to NYT Connections (#1,069, May 15, 2026)
- 🟡Yellow Group: Cross, Ford, Traverse, Wade. (Navigate Through, As A River.)
- 🟢Green Group: Bird, Curry, James, Jordan. (Multi-time NBA MVPs.)
- 🔵Blue Group: Able, Elba, Saw, Was. (Non-palindromic Words In A Famous Palindrome.)
- 🟣Purple Group: Ciao, Palm, Peek, Pitt. (Homophones Of Kinds Of Dogs, Familiarly.)
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How did other solvers do today?
NYT’s early testers rated today’s Connection puzzle 2.2 out of 5. This puts it in the medium difficulty level. Let us know how you fared in the comments!
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