NYT Connections (#1,174) Cheat Sheet: Hints, Clues, and Answers Today (August 28, 2026)

Today’s Connections puzzle has a very obvious misdirect with familial relationships as its theme. While veterans may have steered clear of it, some of you may have fallen hook, line, and sinker. If you’re on your last attempt, we’ve assorted some hints to get you over the line. Those who aren’t feeling very confident can scroll down for one word from every category and the list of themes. Finally, the answers and their explanations are provided at the end of the page. So, without further ado, here are all the hints, clues, and answers to today’s NYT Connections (#1,174, August 28, 2026).

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What is Connections?

Connections is one of the most popular word games from The New York Times, only trailing behind Wordle. The rules of the game are simple. You are presented with a 16-word grid where you’re supposed to find the entries that share something in common. There are a total of 4 groups, each consisting of 4 words, that you must find. The Yellow group is the easiest to spot, followed by Green, Blue, and Purple. Sometimes, there are a couple of red herrings to throw you off and make the puzzle more interesting. You can play Connections in the NYT Games app or on the NYT website.

Here’s your grid for today

• MORNING
• SWEET DREAMS
• TOP SPOT
• ERA
• POPS
• NOON
• HOUR
• BRO
• NIGHT
• MOM
• MAXXING
• LINE
• SIS
• REST EASY
• CODED
• SLEEP TIGHT

Hints for NYT Connections (#1,174) August 28, 2026

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

• 🟡Yellow Group: Things you say before going to bed.
• 🟢Green Group: Spelt the same way, backwards or forwards.
• 🔵Blue Group: Used as suffixes in Gen Z/Millenial slang.
• 🟣Purple Group: Distinguishing parts of phrases that start with the same 3 words.

One Word Per Category (Contains Spoilers)

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

• 🟡Yellow Group: Night.
• 🟢Green Group: Mom.
• 🔵Blue Group: Bro.
• 🟣Purple Group: Hour.

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: Bedtime Parting Words.
• 🟢Green Group: Palindromes.
• 🔵Blue Group: Modern Add-Ons/Combining Forms.
• 🟣Purple Group: Top Of The ___.

Answers to NYT Connections (#1,174) Today (August 28, 2026)

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

• 🟡Yellow Group: Night, Rest Easy, Sleep Tight, Sweet Dreams. (Bedtime Parting Words)

These words/phrases are said before going to bed.

• 🟢Green Group: Mom, Noon, Sis, Top Spot. (Palindromes) 

These words are spelt the same way from both directions.

• 🔵Blue Group: Bro, Coded, Era, Maxxing. (Modern Add-Ons/Combining Forms)

Bro (Gymbro, Bromance). Coded (Trump-coded). Era (In her healing era). Maxxing (Looksmaxxing).

• 🟣Purple Group: Hour, Line, Morning, Pops. (Top Of The ___)

Top of the hour (At the beginning of the hour). Top of the line (Top-notch). Top of the morning (Alternative to ‘good morning’). Top of the pops (Music show).

Answers to yesterday’s puzzle (#1,173, August 27, 2026)

• 🟡Yellow Group: Electric Eel, Lightning, Live Wire, Pikachu. (Electric Things)
• 🟢Green Group: Choked Up, Emotional, Misty, Overcome. (Moved To Tears)
• 🔵Blue Group: Ash, Dove, Pewter, Slate. (Shades Of Gray)
• 🟣Purple Group: Brock, Nemo, Spunk, Wrap. (Music Genre Plus Starting Letter)

Answers to yesterday’s puzzle (#1,172, August 26, 2026)

• 🟡Yellow Group: Behold, Presto, Shazam, Voila. (“There You Have It!”)
• 🟢Green Group: Forte, Gift, Strength, Talent. (Knack)
• 🔵Blue Group: Page, Park, Phosphorus, Piano. (What ‘P’ Might Stand For)
• 🟣Purple Group: Chain, Largo, Lime, Signature. (Key ____)

Answers to NYT Connections #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)

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How did other Connectors do today?

NYT’s early testers rated today’s Connections puzzle 3.3 out of 5. This puts it in the hard difficulty level. Let us know how you fared in the comments!