NYT Connections (#1,077) May 23, 2026: Keep your winning streak alive using these hints and answers

Almost done with your day, but not the Connections puzzle? It’s time to lock in and solve the categories before midnight. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle, we can nudge you in the right direction with some spoiler-free hints. If that isn’t enough, we can also give you one word from each category. On scrolling down some more, you will find the list of themes and all the answers. So, here are all the hints, clues, and answers to today’s NYT Connections (#1,077, May 23, 2026).

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What is Connections?

Connections is a part of the online games catalogue of the New York Times. In popularity, it is only surpassed by Wordle. The rules of this game are pretty simple. You are presented with a 4×4 grid of 16 words. There are 4 hidden categories in this grid that you need to spot. Each category comprises 4 words with a common theme. The Yellow category is the easiest one to solve, followed by Green, Blue, and Purple. Sometimes, there are red herrings and misdirections in the grid to throw you off your game. 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

• FIRST
• EMPIRE
• LAST
• BEEHIVE
• HAWKEYE
• SOONER
• FORCE
• WOLVERINE
• PHANTOM
• POMPADOUR
• DAREDEVIL
• RATHER
• CHIGNON
• NIGHTCRAWLER
• PREFERABLY
• BOUFFANT

Hints for NYT Connections (#1,077) May 23, 2026

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

• 🟡Yellow Group: What you might go to a salon for.
• 🟢Green Group: More willing to do something other than its alternative.
• 🔵Blue Group: Comic book turned movie characters.
• 🟣Purple Group: Words in the titles of George Lucas’ popular movie franchise.

One Word Per Category (Contains Spoilers)

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

• 🟡Yellow Group: Beehive.
• 🟢Green Group: First.
• 🔵Blue Group: Daredevil.
• 🟣Purple Group: Empire.

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: Hairdos.
• 🟢Green Group: More Readily.
• 🔵Blue Group: Marvel Characters.
• 🟣Purple Group: Words After ‘The’ In ‘Star Wars’ Movie Titles.

Answers to NYT Connections (#1,077) Today (May 23, 2026)

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

• 🟡Yellow Group: Beehive, Bouffant, Chignon, Pompadour. (Hairdos)

Today’s Yellow group wasn’t as easy as what we’re used to. If you’re not familiar with hairdo nomenclature, this will probably be the last category you solve today.

• 🟢Green Group: First, Preferably, Rather, Sooner. (More Readily)

An easy green solve. ‘First’ and ‘Last’ seem like they go together at first, but the lack of other similar words means there is no connection between them.

• 🔵Blue Group: Daredevil, Hawkeye, Nightcrawler, Wolverine. (Marvel Characters)

This was one of those categories that looks like a red herring at first, but turns out to be pretty straightforward.

• 🟣Purple Group: Empire, Force, Last, Phantom. (Words After ‘The’ In ‘Star Wars’ Movie Titles)

A relatively easy Purple category, even for those who haven’t watched Star Wars. In case you didn’t get it, here are the movie titles: The Empire Strikes Back, The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Phantom Menace.

Answers to yesterday’s puzzle (#1,076, May 22, 2026)

• 🟡Yellow Group: Check In, Follow Up, Reconnect, Touch Base. (Reach Back Out)
• 🟢Green Group: Convention, Custom, Social Norm, Unwritten Rule. (The Way Things Are Done)
• 🔵Blue Group: Assembly Line, Baggage Claim, Checkout Lane, Revolving Sushi Bar. (Places With Conveyor Belts)
• 🟣Purple Group: Carry-On, El Nino, Loosey-Goosey, Tailor-Made (Starting With Name Homophones)

Answers to NYT Connections #1,075 (May 21, 2026)

• 🟡Yellow Group: Chess, Pecan, Pumpkin, Shoofly. (Kinds of Pies)
• 🟢Green Group: Caboose, Can, Moon, Peach. (Things Associated with Butts)
• 🔵Blue Group: Advantage, Deuce, Forty, Love. (Tennis Scoring Terms)
• 🟣Purple Group: Colonel, Honey, Hot, Yellow. (___ Mustard)

Answers to NYT Connections #1,074 (May 20, 2026)

• 🟡Yellow Group: High, Medium, Off, Simmer. (Stove Knob Settings)
• 🟢Green Group: Concentration, Force, Intensity, Might. (Potency)
• 🔵Blue Group: Interval, Key, Mode, Scale. (Music Theory Concepts)
• 🟣Purple Group: Groundhog, Independence, Training, The Longest (“___ Day” Movies)

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How did other solvers do today?

NYT’s early testers rated today’s Connection puzzle 1.8 out of 5. This puts it in the easy difficulty level. Let us know how you fared in the comments!