All the Hints, Clues, and Answers to NYT Connections (#1,086) June 1, 2026

Can’t seem to find a breakthrough in today’s Connections puzzle? We’re here to help. We’ll get you started with some spoiler-free hints to set you on the right path. If that doesn’t help, you can have one word from each category. Finally, we’ll give you the list of themes and the answers. Here are all the hints, clues, and answers you need to solve NYT Connections #1,086 (June 1, 2026).

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What is Connections?

After Wordle, Connections is the New York Times’ most popular word game. The rules are simple. You need to find words with a common theme and group them into 4 groups of 4. The 16-word 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 Connections in the NYT Games app or on the NYT website.

Some tips to solve Connections

Look for the obvious patterns: Not every category in the puzzle is confusing. The Yellow and Green category words are relatively easy to spot. However, if something seems too obvious, it could be a red herring. Typically, the first two categories comprise verbs and adjectives. The misdirects are often nouns.

Double-check your submissions: ‘Do not overthink’ is usually a good tip for solving most puzzles, but it doesn’t really apply to Connections. Before submitting a set of words, you should always check whether they fit somewhere else too.

Hit a dead end? Use the shuffle button: The shuffle button at the bottom of the grid exists for a reason. Placing the words in different positions can spark new connections. Think of it as a mental refresh. New patterns will emerge, and you may be able to find a breakthrough.

Tackle the Purple category with extra caution: The Connections team is known to serve up the toughest and most unexpected words for the Purple category. Here are some of the common tropes that you should look out for:

• Homophones (For example: ‘Where’, ‘Wear’, ‘Ware’, and ‘Weir’)
• Words within words (For example: ‘Slip’, ‘Hear’, ‘Keyes’, and ‘Undiagnosed’ could be ‘Words containing parts of the face’)
• Words minus a letter (For example: ‘Anther’, ‘Easel’, ‘Hark’, and ‘Lama’ could be ‘Animals minus starting letter’)
• Words preceded or followed by another word (For example: ‘Face’, ‘Sports’, ‘Note’, and ‘Year’ could be ‘____ Book’)

Here’s your grid for today

• WEDDING
• MENAGERIE
• ONION
• NEWSPAPER
• CEILING
• SLIPPERS
• TREE
• CAT
• DOOR
• TATTOO
• PIPE
• WALL
• KEY
• WINDOW
• STREETCAR
• ROBE

Hints for NYT Connections (#1,086) June 1, 2026

Let’s get you started with some general, spoiler-free hints.

• 🟡Yellow Group: Look around your room.
• 🟢Green Group: Having a chill time on an off day.
• 🔵Blue Group: Present in the titles of a famous playwright.
• 🟣Purple Group: Succeeded by a common word.

One Word Per Category (Contains Spoilers)

Can’t seem to find an in? We’ll give you one word from each category.

• 🟡Yellow Group: Ceiling.
• 🟢Green Group: Newspaper.
• 🔵Blue Group: Cat.
• 🟣Purple Group: Key.

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: Room Features.
• 🟢Green Group: Old-Timey Lounging Accessories.
• 🔵Blue Group: Subjects In Tennessee Williams Titles.
• 🟣Purple Group: ___ Ring.

Answers to NYT Connections (#1,086) Today (June 1, 2026)

Close to waving the white flag? Fine, we’ll give you the answers.

• 🟡Yellow Group: Ceiling, Door, Wall, Window. (Room Features)

A category so straightforward, we thought it was a misdirect. This one didn’t require much thought.

• 🟢Green Group: Newspaper, Pipe, Robe, Slippers. (Old-Timey Lounging Accessories)

While these words make sense together in retrospect, having no reference point in the grid made it a hard category to crack.

• 🔵Blue Group: Cat, Menagerie, Streetcar, Tattoo. (Subjects In Tennessee Williams Titles)

In our opinion, this was the toughest group to solve today. The titles are: ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’, ‘The Glass Menagerie’, ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’, and ‘The Rose Tattoo’.

• 🟣Purple Group: Key, Onion, Tree, Wedding. (___ Ring)

June starts off with an easy Purple group. The answer was: Key Ring, Onion Ring, Tree Ring, and Wedding Ring.

Answers to yesterday’s puzzle (#1,085, May 31, 2026)

• 🟡Yellow Group: Butter, Pikachu, Rubber Duck, School Bus. (Things That Are Yellow)
• 🟢Green Group: Break, Cue, Pocket, Rack. (Billiards Terms)
• 🔵Blue Group: Jack, Salt, Sea Dog, Tar. (Slang For A Sailor)
• 🟣Purple Group: Sash, Soak, Spine, Steak. (Kinds Of Wood Plus ‘S’)

Answers to NYT Connections #1,084 (May 30, 2026)

• 🟡Yellow Group: Impossible, Never, No Way, Sorry. (In Your Dreams)
• 🟢Green Group: Clear, Lucid, Right, Sound. (Sensible)
• 🔵Blue Group: Brace, Caret, Pipe, Tilde. (Typographical Symbols)
• 🟣Purple Group: Fever, Gigi, Volare, Witchcraft. (Song Of The Year Nominees At The First Grammy Awards)

Answers to NYT Connections #1,083 (May 29, 2026)

• 🟡Yellow Group: Arctic, Atlantic, Pacific, Southern. (Ocean)
• 🟢Green Group: Ammonia, BO, Durian, Wet Dog. (Sources Of Distinctive Smells)
• 🔵Blue Group: Billiard, Drawing, Powder, Reading. (Kinds Of Rooms In A Mansion)
• 🟣Purple Group: Father, Pennsylvania, Protactinium, Public Address. (What ‘PA’ Might Refer To)

Answers to NYT Connections #1,082 (May 28, 2026)

• 🟡Yellow Group: Duck, Hunch, Squat, Stoop. (Get Low)
• 🟢Green Group: Media, News, Papers, Press. (Fourth Estate)
• 🔵Blue Group: Bar, Bench, Podium, Stand. (Parts Of A Courtroom)
• 🟣Purple Group: Jump, Lift, Lodge, Slope. (Ski ___)

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How did other solvers do today?

NYT’s early testers rated today’s Connection puzzle 3 out of 5. This puts it in the hard difficulty level. Let us know how you fared in the comments!