Knock Today’s NYT Connections (#1,172) Out of the Park With These Hints, Clues, and Answers (August 26, 2026)

Done with your morning coffee but not today’s Connections puzzle? There’s no reason to sweat it. We’re here to help you out. First, we’ll give you some pointers in the form of spoiler-free hints. Next, we’ll reveal one word from each category, followed by the list of themes. Finally, we’ll give you the answers along with their explanations. So, let’s dive into the hints, clues, and answers to today’s NYT Connections (#1,172, August 26, 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

• PARK
• LIME
• PIANO
• FORTE
• LARGO
• PRESTO
• SIGNATURE
• PAGE
• GIFT
• PHOSPHOROUS
• BEHOLD
• CHAIN
• VOILA
• TALENT
• SHAZAM
• STRENGTH

Hints for NYT Connections (#1,172) August 26, 2026

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

• 🟡Yellow Group: Yelled to draw attention. 
• 🟢Green Group: Expertise.
• 🔵Blue Group: Denoted by a common letter.
• 🟣Purple Group: Preceded by a common word that means ‘important’.

One Word Per Category (Contains Spoilers)

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

• 🟡Yellow Group: Behold.
• 🟢Green Group: Forte.
• 🔵Blue Group: Page.
• 🟣Purple Group: Chain.

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: “There You Have It!”
• 🟢Green Group: Knack.
• 🔵Blue Group: What ‘P’ Might Stand For.
• 🟣Purple Group: Key ____.

Answers to NYT Connections (#1,172) Today (August 26, 2026)

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

• 🟡Yellow Group: Behold, Presto, Shazam, Voila. (“There You Have It!”)

These words are uttered at a grand revelation or when a performance reaches its climax.

• 🟢Green Group: Forte, Gift, Strength, Talent. (Knack)

These words are used to describe someone having a speciality or expertise in something.

• 🔵Blue Group: Page, Park, Phosphorus, Piano. (What ‘P’ Might Stand For)

The letter ‘P’ is used to denote these things.

• 🟣Purple Group: Chain, Largo, Lime, Signature. (Key ____)

Key Chain (Used to hold keys together), Key Largo (Northernmost island of the Florida Keys), Key Lime (Citrus fruit), Key Signature (Musical notation). 

Answers to yesterday’s puzzle (#1,171, August 25, 2026)

• 🟡Yellow Group: Cosmetic, One-Dimensional, Skin-Deep, Superficial. (Surface-Level) 
• 🟢Green Group: Hyperspace, Parallel Universe, Teleportation, Time Warp. (Sci-Fi Phenomena)
• 🔵Blue Group: Green Mile, Long Walk, Running Man, Shawshank Redemption. (Stephen King Film Adaptation, With ‘The’)
• 🟣Purple Group: Harlem Shake, Inside Scoop, Lickety-Split, Traffic Cone. (Ending In Ice Cream Orders)

Answers to NYT Connections #1,170 (August 24, 2026)

• 🟡Yellow Group: Mullet, Pike, Sole, Tang. (Fish)
• 🟢Green Group: Arch, Chief, Main, Prime. (Principal)
• 🔵Blue Group: Face, Heel, Jobber, Kayfabe. (Pro-Wrestling Lingo)
• 🟣Purple Group: Beset, Deserve, Ex-Love, Eyelet. (Letter Homophone Plus Tennis Term)

Answers to NYT Connections #1,169 (August 23, 2026)

• 🟡Yellow Group: Powder Keg, Time Bomb, Tinderbox, Volcano. (Potentially Explosive Things)
• 🟢Green Group: Antifreeze, Bazaar, Skiing, Vacuum. (Double Vowels)
• 🔵Blue Group: Home Fries, Potato Battery, Vichyssoise, Vodka. (Made With Potatoes)
• 🟣Purple Group: Baking Soda, Club Soda, Hydrogen Peroxide, Vinegar. (Household Stain Removers)

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How did other Connectors do today?

NYT’s early testers rated today’s Connections puzzle 1.3 out of 5. This puts it in the easy difficulty level. Let us know how you fared in the comments!