If you’re going into today’s Connections puzzle thinking that one of the groups is related to school projects, let us just stop you right there. You are going in the wrong direction. Instead of wasting your limited attempts on guesses, use our spoiler-free hints to submit answers with logical consistency. If that doesn’t work, we’ll give you one word from each category, followed by the list of themes. If you’re on your last attempt and just want the answers, you will find them at the end of the page. So, without further ado, let’s dive into the hints, clues, and answers to today’s NYT Connections (#1,169, August 23, 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. 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
- ANTIFREEZE
- VACUUM
- BAKING SODA
- VOLCANO
- VINEGAR
- VODKA
- TINDERBOX
- POTATO BATTERY
- SKIING
- HOME FRIES
- CLUB SODA
- POWDER KEG
- HYDROGEN PEROXIDE
- BAZAAR
- VISCHYSSOISE
- TIME BOMB
Hints for NYT Connections (#1,169) August 23, 2026
Let’s get you started with some general, spoiler-free hints.
- 🟡Yellow Group: BOOM!
- 🟢Green Group: Recurring letters.
- 🔵Blue Group: Made from a common ingredient.
- 🟣Purple Group: Household remedy used on clothes and fabrics.
One Word Per Category (Contains Spoilers)
Can’t seem to find an in? We’ll give you one word from each category.
- 🟡Yellow Group: Powder Keg.
- 🟢Green Group: Antifreeze.
- 🔵Blue Group: Home Fries.
- 🟣Purple Group: Baking Soda.
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: Potentially Explosive Things.
- 🟢Green Group: Double Vowels.
- 🔵Blue Group: Made With Potatoes.
- 🟣Purple Group: Household Stain Removers.
Answers to NYT Connections (#1,169) Today (August 23, 2026)
Close to waving the white flag? Fine, we’ll give you the answers.
- 🟡Yellow Group: Powder Keg, Time Bomb, Tinderbox, Volcano. (Potentially Explosive Things)
A powder keg can explode when it gets too hot or comes in contact with a flame. A tinderbox causes a minute explosion in the form of sparks that light a flame. Time Bomb and Volcano are pretty self-explanatory.
- 🟢Green Group: Antifreeze, Bazaar, Skiing, Vacuum. (Double Vowels)
Antifr(ee)ze, Baz(aa)r, Sk(ii)ng, Vac(uu)m.
- 🔵Blue Group: Home Fries, Potato Battery, Vischyssoise, Vodka. (Made With Potatoes)
For those wondering, Vischyssoise is a soup made from cooked and puréed potatoes.
- 🟣Purple Group: Baking Soda, Club Soda, Hydrogen Peroxide, Vinegar. (Household Stain Removers)
The mild acidity/alkalinity of these substances makes them efficient stain removers.
Answers to yesterday’s puzzle (#1,168, August 22, 2026)
- 🟡Yellow Group: Chisel, Hammer, Plane, Saw. (Carpentry Tools)
- 🟢Green Group: Bitter, Musk, Water, Winter. (Kinds Of Melon)
- 🔵Blue Group: Cone, Jet, Mist, Shower. (Garden Hose Settings)
- 🟣Purple Group: Gilmore, Golden, Mean, Spice. (___ Girls Of Pop Culture)
Answers to NYT Connections #1,167 (August 21, 2026)
- 🟡Yellow Group: Nutrition, Oxygen, Sleep, Water. (Things Most Animals Need)
- 🟢Green Group: Action, Curtain Up, Places, Showtime. (Calls To Begin A Performance)
- 🔵Blue Group: Comeback, Karate, Sundance, Wimpy. (___ Kids)
- 🟣Purple Group: Blue Moon, Generation, Lifetime, While. (Once In A ___)
Answers to NYT Connections #1,166 (August 20, 2026)
- 🟡Yellow Group: Diavola, Hawaiian, Meat Lovers, White. (Kinds Of Pizza)
- 🟢Green Group: Atomic, Serial, Social Security, Telephone. (Kinds Of Numbers)
- 🔵Blue Group: Apostrophe, Cedilla, Comma, Okina. (Similarly Shaped Typographical Marks)
- 🟣Purple Group: Dragonfly, Oxford, Pigment, Ratchet. (Starting With Chinese Zodiac Animals)
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How did other solvers do today?
NYT’s early testers rated today’s Connections puzzle 2.3 out of 5. This puts it in the medium difficulty level. Let us know how you fared in the comments!
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