Looking for Monday’s Connections hints and answers instead? You can find them here:
Hey there, gang! I hope your week is off to a great start.
This is an exciting day for me because a new season of Overwatch 2, the game I play and write about more than any other (save for Connections, perhaps), is getting underway.
There are some massive updates this time around that promise to completely disrupt and change how the game is played. I can’t wait to start trying out the new stuff.
You can read about some of it here, if you’re interested:
Before we begin, I’ve set up a discussion group for Connections and this column on Discord. You can chat about each game (and other topics) with me and other folks. I’m always interested to find out how other people approach the game, so join us! It’s fun.
It’s also the best way to give me any feedback about the column, especially on the rare(!) occasions that I mess something up.
Today’s NYT Connections hints and answers for Tuesday, February 18, are coming right up.
How To Play Connections
Connections is a free, popular New York Times daily word game. You get a new puzzle at midnight every day. You can play on the NYT website or Games app.
You’re presented with a grid of 16 words. Your task is to arrange them into four groups of four by figuring out the links between them. The groups could be things like items you can click, names for research study participants or words preceded by a body part.
There’s only one solution for each puzzle, and you’ll need to be careful when it comes to words that might fit into more than one category. You can shuffle the words to perhaps help you see links between them.
Each group is color coded. The yellow group is usually the easiest to figure out, blue and green fall in the middle, and the purple group is usually the most difficult one. The purple group often involves wordplay.
Select four words you think go together and press Submit. If you make a guess and you’re incorrect, you’ll lose a life. If you’re close to having a correct group, you might see a message telling you that you’re one word away from getting it right, but you’ll still need to figure out which one to swap.
If you make four mistakes, it’s game over. Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen with the help of some hints, and, if you’re really struggling, today’s Connections answers. As with Wordle and other similar games, it’s easy to share results with your friends on social media and group chats.
If you have an NYT All Access or Games subscription, you can access the publication’s Connections archive. This includes every previous game of Connections, so you can go back and play any of those that you have missed.
Aside from the first 60 games or so, you should be able to find my hints for each grid via Google if you need them! Just click here and add the date of the game for which you need clues or the answers to the search query.
What Are Today’s Connections Hints?
Scroll slowly! Just after the hints for each of today’s Connections groups, I’ll reveal what the groups are without immediately telling you which words go into them.
Today’s 16 words are…
- HEARTY
- READY
- HANDY
- SQUARE
- AVAILABLE
- BUTTY
- CAVITY
- FILLING
- FOOTY
- HOLE
- SOLID
- CHIPPY
- HOLLOW
- TELLY
- NEARBY
- PIT
And the hints for today’s Connections groups are:
- Yellow group — a depression or caldera
- Green group — on hand
- Blue group — that’ll keep you going for a while
- Purple group — like the Beeb, a giro, a funfair, a fiver or a full stop
What Are Today’s Connections Groups?
Need some extra help?
Be warned: we’re starting to get into spoiler territory.
Today’s Connections groups are…
- Yellow group — crater
- Green group — accessible
- Blue group — substantial, as a meal
- Purple group — Britishisms
What Are Today’s Connections Answers?
Spoiler alert! Don’t scroll any further down the page until you’re ready to find out today’s Connections answers.
This is your final warning!
Today’s Connections answers are…
- Yellow group — crater (CAVITY, HOLE, HOLLOW, PIT)
- Green group — accessible (AVAILABLE, HANDY, NEARBY, READY)
- Blue group — substantial, as a meal (FILLING, HEARTY, SOLID, SQUARE)
- Purple group — Britishisms (BUTTY, CHIPPY, FOOTY, TELLY)
A second perfect game in a row, and that means I now have a streak of 12 wins. Massive. Here’s how I fared:
🟪🟪🟪🟪
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩
Crikey, that was close to a reverse rainbow. I thought I had it in the bag, but my assumptions about what would be the yellow and green groups were incorrect.
The purples jumped out at me immediately. Those shouldn’t be any trouble at all for anyone who, like me, hails from that part of the world.
I and other players sometimes complain that Connections is too US-centric. That does make sense, since it’s a game from The New York Times, but people from around the world play it. We’ve got folks from all over in our Discord group!
So for once, I am pleased to say this: how do you like them apples, America? Not so fun now, eh?
(I kid, I kid.)
In case you’re wondering, a CHIPPY is a fish and chip shop, while a BUTTY is a bread-and-butter sandwich/bun/roll that’s typically filled with bacon or chips (we’re not calling them fries today). Mmm. A TELLY is a television, while FOOTY refers to my beloved football – the one I can’t possibly call soccer.
Phew, all right, onto the next group. I spotted the blues thanks to HEARTY and FILLING. I wasn’t sure how to complete the group, but I remembered about the notion of a SQUARE meal.
I didn’t have any issues with the last two groups. Again, I just got it wrong as to which one was yellow and which was green. A slight disappointment, but I’ll never be too upset about getting a perfect game.
That’s all there is to it for today’s Connections clues and answers. Be sure to check my blog tomorrow for hints and the solution for Wednesday’s game if you need them.
P.S. I had a different recommendation in mind for today, but I feel like I need to go with a song from a British artist instead. In particular, a bangin’ tune from a group of lads who would absolutely use those purple words.
So here’s “Brianstorm,” my favorite track by Arctic Monkeys. That opening riff has been rattling around my brain for the best part of two decades. It’s a loud ‘un, innit:
P.P.S. I’m totally having fish and chips for dinner tonight.
Have a great day! Stay hydrated! Call someone you love!
If you’re so inclined, please do follow my blog for more coverage of Connections and other word games and even some video game news, insights and analysis. It helps me out a lot! Also, follow me on Bluesky! It’s fun there.
