NYT Connections Solution And Hints For August 21, 2026

Published Aug 21, 2026, 12:30 PM EDT Matthew Danielson is a Senior Gaming Staff Writer for Screen Rant, using their expertise in fighting games, RPGs, and action titles to provide insight into your favorite experiences. Matthew does a bit of everything, including helping ideate new content surrounding the hottest games and classics that continue to stoke nostalgia. With multiple years of experience, Matthew is your go-to expert on a variety of topics, from detailed fighting game experience to the most nuanced builds for your favorite RPG. Matthew has worked for Screen Rant as a Gaming Senior Staff Writer since August 2022, and has been proud to release many articles that have helped people with unique problems while playing games. As a long-time fan of TTRPG games, Matthew is also a veteran DM for Dungeons and Dragons, having hosted numerous campaigns over nearly a decade. Fame and opportunity are two themes tied to today's Connections, with words also being part of larger phrases tied to common recognition. Much like how you might know a celebrity by name, knowing these "famous" phrases can help you find patterns in the puzzle without too much trouble. By understanding your relationship with a term when you use it, you might find a path toward every right answer. 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 21 #1168 Each category in today's Connections puzzle is unique, but multiple sections rely on the context of when and where you say certain phrases. For example, one word might have multiple literal definitions, but is used frequently in one type of setting. Identifying the way that different words in the puzzle are used commonly will help break down their relationship to each other. If you want to know some hints regarding today's puzzle categories, check out these clues below: One category is about important resources living creatures require to keep living in the wild. One category is about phrases you might hear shouted in a theater during a show or rehearsal. One category is about titles used for types of children across various forms of media. One category is about phrases you use to describe something that doesn't happen too often. 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. THINGS MOST ANIMALS NEED CALLS TO BEGIN A PERFORMANCE ___ KIDS ONCE IN A ___ Today's Connections Answers August 21 #1168 Yellow Answers: Revealed & Explained THINGS MOST ANIMALS NEED NUTRITION OXYGEN SLEEP WATER The idea of "being healthy" can be drawn from the words SLEEP and NUTRITION in this part of the puzzle, before you even think about the right category. For anyone who has tried to go on a diet, drinking lots of WATER can help that healthy act as a way to stave off hunger. With those three words in mind, putting OXYGEN as a required resource for your health into the pattern comes up with the right answer. Green Answers: Revealed & Explained CALLS TO BEGIN A PERFORMANCE ACTION CURTAIN UP PLACES SHOWTIME Words like CURTAIN UP and SHOWTIME already give you the idea of a theater or movie performance, but it can also be easy to put SHOWTIME and LIFETIME together for having "time" in their structure. This confusion can be broken by seeing that PLACES could stand for "places, people!," a phrase often used to organize theater performers. ACTION is the same equivalent to starting rolling for a film, so each word tied to performance creates a section of the puzzle organically. Blue Answers: Revealed & Explained ___ KIDS COMEBACK KARATE SUNDANCE WIMPY The most obvious clue for this section of the puzzle is WIMPY, as the term is hardly used in a context beyond describing someone "weak" or "spineless." Traditionally in media, the idea of a WIMPY kid is common, such as in movies like Home Alone or A Christmas Story. Diary of a Wimpy Kid books also sell this pattern, making it easier to identify that COMEBACK kids, KARATE kids, and SUNDANCE kids are all similar tropes seen in books, movies, and TV. Purple Answers: Revealed & Explained ONCE IN A ___ BLUE MOON GENERATION LIFETIME WHILE Ironically, this is the category I discovered first, as the moment I looked at BLUE MOON, I recognized a phrase I use often in daily life. I say "Once in a blue moon" whenever I describe something I do rarely. This can be applied to other terms, such as "Once in a LIFETIME/GENERATION/WHILE," giving me exactly what I needed to complete the puzzle for today's Connections. Other Games Like Connections If you are looking for another puzzle to play, check out one of the ones in the box below. Systems Released June 12, 2023 ESRB e Developer(s) The New York Times Company Publisher(s) The New York Times Company Platform(s) Web Browser, Mobile