NYT Connections Solution And Hints For August 22, 2026

Published Aug 22, 2026, 12:34 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. When it comes to today's Connections, there are a variety of closely related words without clues, making it easy to commit mistakes. There will be some phrases you believe go into the same patterns, only to reveal a series of red herrings instead. With this in mind, you still have to pursue some commonalities, but be extra careful not to go after "obvious" answers within the puzzle. 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 22 #1169 Each category in today's Connections is quite straightforward, at least in comparison to past puzzles. That being said, many of the phrases today are used in literal contexts, but with more obscure details, and rarely how you'd expect them to appear. For example, some words might be vague descriptions of another already in the puzzle, throwing you off from what could be the correct category. If you want to know some hints regarding today's puzzle categories, check out these clues below: One category is about objects used to shape wood into whatever structure a skilled worker desires. One category is about variations of a certain fruit that is larger than most foods of the same type. One category is about calibrations to the tool you would use to water your plants in a garden. One category is about titles of groups of female characters across popular media. 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. CARPENTRY TOOLS KINDS OF MELON GARDEN HOSE SETTINGS ___ GIRLS OF POP CULTURE Today's Connections Answers August 22 #1169 Yellow Answers: Revealed & Explained CARPENTRY TOOLS CHISEL HAMMER PLANE SAW The words CHISEL and HAMMER are already closely related as tools used for building something, although I initially thought this was within a more artistic context. Most people could throw in SAW as another tool, but few might be able to find the last word to fit this category. By looking up how a PLANE is used to even out carpentry tasks, the ideas of construction come together clearly for the right answer. Green Answers: Revealed & Explained KINDS OF MELON BITTER MUSK WATER WINTER This category can be pretty tricky, as WATER can be associated with MIST, JET, or SHOWER by mistake because of assuming another pattern. Likewise, MUSK and SHOWER might go together too, if not for how both MUSK and WATER melons both exist as real variations of similar food items. It might take some time to come to this conclusion, but once you do, you'll see how BITTER melons and WINTER melons also fit into this theme. Blue Answers: Revealed & Explained GARDEN HOSE SETTINGS CONE JET MIST SHOWER Anyone who has done landscaping or worked in a garden knows how water-related terms might be organized. Even without that context, though, you can put MIST and SHOWER together as ways water can be manipulated with the right tool. A JET or CONE of water is something you're able to create with different devices too, but most commonly with a hose used to water your plants. Purple Answers: Revealed & Explained ___ GIRLS OF POP CULTURE GILMORE GOLDEN MEAN SPICE This category is perhaps the easiest in today's puzzle, simply for how much GILMORE stands out among the crowd of other words. GILMORE can really only refer to the Gilmore Girls, leading you to search for other "girl" related phrases. Those who know about the SPICE Girls, GOLDEN Girls, and MEAN Girls as different movie, TV, and singer girl groups can answer this category confidently, finishing the Connections for today in short order. 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