NYT Connections Solution And Hints For August 19, 2026

Published Aug 19, 2026, 2:01 PM EDT

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Today's Connections are scattered all over the place, making the puzzle feel more disjointed than it has in past days. As a result of this structure, looking for clues can be difficult, with words failing to match up on many occasions. However, with enough ingenuity, you'll discover very loose threads that lead to a greater solution.

You only have four chances to make a mistake before losing a game of Connections, limiting your options as you play. The best advice for any day of Connections is to take your time to understand many possible contexts one phrase could mean besides what seems obvious. Similar to the Letter Boxed NYT puzzles, you have to find patterns to correctly discover the right path.

Today's Connections Category Hints

August 19 #1166

Some of the words in today's puzzle are parts of a greater whole, whether that's a literally bigger phrase or a broader concept they represent. The Connections aren't as organized this time around, so you need to think about all the ways in which a specific word might get used in a larger setting. Sounding out phrases and imagining what other ways they could be used may reveal which categories to pursue.

If you want to know some hints regarding today's puzzle categories, check out these clues below:

• One category is about casual words used when someone is describing a task that was easy to complete.
• One category is about terms tied to hiding information or something physical from someone else.
• One category is about phrases that come right before the formation of various sports.
• One category is about words that sound like movies you would see by Disney or Pixar.

If you want to go all out with some of your clue-searching, you should look at the category names to get some extra help. There are also spoilers for each category if you find yourself needing to solve a single category to finish up.

	PIECE OF CAKE
	CONCEAL
	WORDS BEFORE "BALL" IN SPORT NAMES
	HOMOPHONES OF CGI-ANIMATED FILMS

Today's Connections Answers

August 19 #1166

Yellow Answers: Revealed & Explained

PIECE OF CAKE
BREEZE	CINCH	PICNIC	SNAP

One word that stood out to me today was BREEZE, a word with few definitions outside a type of wind or something being easy. Although the word PICNIC is something that can be paired with BLANKET and BASKET for a picnic by mistake, using it with CINCH relays that idea of getting a task done without issue. With SNAP too, this category is simple to finish off.

Green Answers: Revealed & Explained

CONCEAL
BLANKET	HIDE	MASK	OBSCURE

Even if you take time to figure out BLANKET doesn't stand with other "picnic" related words, you might put HIDE and OBSCURE together for concepts behind stealth. This category is about hiding things, whether it's information or putting on a MASK to hide your true intentions. When you realize you can also BLANKET information from someone else, this category has a much clearer solution.

Blue Answers: Revealed & Explained

WORDS BEFORE "BALL" IN SPORT NAMES
BASE	BASKET	FOOT	PICKLE

I got kind of lucky with this category, as I already thought that BASE and BASKET represented two objects used heavily in sports, even without the "ball" connection. However, with that logic in mind, PICKLE had several possibilities in mind, from the literal food to a category describing a certain flavor of foods. When you see that PICKLE could also be "pickleball," using "football" with FOOT finds the right answer.

Purple Answers: Revealed & Explained

HOMOPHONES OF CGI-ANIMATED FILMS
ANTS	COCOA	RHEO	SEOUL

Some players might place RHEO and SEOUL together initially, as RHEO sounds like "Rio," another major world city along with SEOUL. This is only part of the larger puzzle, but sounding out these words like RHEO shows that ANTS and COCOA both sound like movie titles. Although this part of the Connections might not be found by everyone, sharp players who know movies like "Rio" and "Coco" could find this solution much earlier.

Other Games Like Connections

If you are looking for another puzzle to play, check out one of the ones in the box below.

Game Name	How To Play	Is It Free To Play?
Wordle (NYT)	Solve a random five-letter word by using color clues. Every Wordle answer can be found in our daily updated list.	Yes
Primel	Guess a five-digit number in six attempts.	Yes
Crosswordle	Find the two words that intersect each other like a crossword puzzle.	Yes
The Password Game	Create a password in this ever-changing, not-so-simple game. You can find some helpful tips in our Password Game guide.	Yes

Systems