The New York Times continues to expand the popularity of its daily puzzle lineup with NYT Connections, a word game that challenges players to identify hidden relationships between seemingly unrelated terms. The May 21 puzzle (#1075) offers a mix of accessible categories and misleading overlaps, creating a moderately challenging experience for regular players. Today's board includes references connected to classic pies, tennis terminology, slang expressions and word associations, while the Purple category introduces a playful linguistic twist that may catch some players off guard. This guide includes spoiler-free hints, the complete answers and a quick explanation of how the puzzle works.
What is NYT's 'Connections' game
Connections is a daily word puzzle from The New York Times that asks players to group related words together. The game uses four colour-coded difficulty levels — Yellow, Green, Blue and Purple — with Yellow generally being the easiest and Purple often involving more abstract or playful logic.
Players receive 16 words and must organise them into four groups of four. Each group shares a hidden connection that may involve categories, meanings, phrases, themes or wordplay.
NYT Connections hints for today
Yellow: Classic pies you might find at a Southern table
Green: Playful nicknames for your backside
Blue: The vocabulary of tennis tension
Purple: Words that complete "___ mustard"
NYT Connections answers for May 21, 2026
Here are the correct groupings for today's puzzle:
- Yellow – KINDS OF PIES: CHESS, PECAN, PUMPKIN, SHOOFLY
- Green – SLANG TERMS FOR BUTT: CABOOSE, CAN, MOON, PEACH
- Blue – TENNIS SCORING TERMS: ADVANTAGE, DEUCE, FORTY, LOVE
- Purple – ___ MUSTARD: COLONEL, HONEY, HOT, YELLOW
How to play NYT Connections
Understand the objective
The puzzle presents 16 words arranged in a grid. Your goal is to organise them into four groups of four words that share a hidden connection.
Access the puzzle
A new Connections puzzle is released daily through The New York Times website and mobile app.
Begin analysing
Scan all 16 words carefully and look for the most obvious links first. Rearranging the board can often help reveal hidden patterns and eliminate confusion.
Submit your groups
Select four words that you believe belong together and submit them as a group. Correct answers are locked into place automatically.
Watch your mistakes
Players have a limited number of incorrect guesses before the game ends, so strategic elimination becomes important for tougher categories.
Other NYT games to explore
If you enjoy Connections, The New York Times also offers several other popular daily puzzle games:
- Wordle: Guess a five-letter word in six attempts
- Spelling Bee: Create as many words as possible using a specific set of letters
- Mini Crossword: A short daily crossword challenge
- Strands: A word-search-inspired puzzle built around hidden themes
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