Struggling to solve today’s New York Times Connections puzzle? The game challenges players to find four groups of four words sharing a common theme in a grid of 16 items. The difficulty increases as players move from the yellow group to the purple group, requiring distinct word association skills.

The Goal Of The Game

The New York Times hosts a popular daily word game where users must categorize 16 words into four sets of four. These sets are color-coded by difficulty, starting with the easiest (yellow) and ending with the hardest (purple). Players can make up to four mistakes before the game ends.

Today’s puzzle presents a mix of concrete objects and abstract concepts. The grid includes words like “Red Carpet,” “Private Jet,” “Sweet Potato,” and “Paparazzi.” Solving the puzzle requires spotting the subtle links between these disparate items.

Today’s Puzzle Answers

Here are the solutions for NYT Connections #1,164 on August 18, 2026.

• Yellow Group (Easiest): Limousine, Paparazzi, Red Carpet, Velvet Rope — Seen At A Movie Premiere
• Green Group: Petroleum Jelly, Poetic Justice, Practical Joke, Private Jet — PJs
• Blue Group: Basketball, Orangutan, Sweet Potato, Traffic Cone — Things That Are Orange
• Purple Group (Hardest): Cowboy Coffee, Film Noir, Flyers Mascot, Sandpaper — Things That Are Gritty

For the yellow category, the theme centers on the events surrounding a film premiere. The red carpet and velvet rope are classic barriers for stars, while limousines transport them and paparazzi capture their arrival.

The green category relies on an abbreviation. All four words are commonly shortened to “PJ,” referring to pajamas or pajama sets.

The blue category is the most deceptive. It groups items that are physically orange, including the sweet potato, traffic cone, and basketball. The inclusion of the orangutan adds a layer of confusion since the animal is orange but not typically classified as a “thing” in this context.

Solving the purple group requires a broader interpretation of the word “gritty.” This category mixes textures with cultural references. Sandpaper is gritty by definition. The Flyers mascot is named Gritty. Cowboy coffee is prepared without a filter, resulting in a raw and gritty taste. Finally, film noir is a genre known for its dark, gritty atmosphere.

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What is Connections?

The New York Times has a thriving online word game section, with Connections being the second-most-played title behind the crown jewel, Wordle. The rules of this game are simple – you need to find 4 groups comprising 4 words each in a 16-word grid. The words in each group are united by a common theme. The Yellow group is the easiest one to spot, followed by Green, Blue, and Purple (toughest). Sometimes, there are red herrings and misdirects in the grid to throw you off your game, so don’t take your thinking cap off at any time! Ready to lock in? You can play Connections in the NYT Games app or on the NYT website.

Here’s your grid for today

RED CARPET

FILM NOIR

BASKETBALL

PRIVATE JET

SWEET POTATO

SANDPAPER

VELVET ROPE

FLYERS MASCOT

PRACTICAL JOKE

LIMOUSINE

TRAFFIC CONE

PETROLEUM JELLY

ORANGUTAN

COWBOY COFFEE

POETIC JUSTICE

PAPARAZZI

Hints for NYT Connections (#1,164) August 18, 2026

Let’s get you started with some general, spoiler-free hints.

🟡Yellow Group: A star-studded event.

🟢Green Group: Same abbreviation.

🔵Blue Group: Same colour.

🟣Purple Group: Tough in different ways.

One Word Per Category (Contains Spoilers)

Can’t seem to find an in? We’ll give you one word from each category.

🟡Yellow Group: Limousine.

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🟢Green Group: Petroleum Jelly.

🔵Blue Group: Basketball.

🟣Purple Group: Cowboy Coffee.

List of Themes (Major Spoilers)

Maybe getting to know the common themes among the words will help you spot them faster. Here are all the categories for today.

🟡Yellow Group: Seen At A Movie Premiere.

🟢Green Group: PJs.

🔵Blue Group: Things That Are Orange.

🟣Purple Group: Things That Are Gritty.

Answers to NYT Connections (#1,164) Today (August 18, 2026)

Close to waving the white flag? Fine, we’ll give you the answers.

🟡Yellow Group: Limousine, Paparazzi, Red Carpet, Velvet Rope. (Seen At A Movie Premiere)

The stars arrive in a limousine, cross the velvet rope to walk the red carpet, and get their pictures snapped by the paparazzi.

🟢Green Group: Petroleum Jelly, Poetic Justice, Practical Joke, Private Jet. (PJs)

Today’s Green group is pretty self-explanatory. These things are abbreviated as ‘PJ’.

🔵Blue Group: Basketball, Orangutan, Sweet Potato, Traffic Cone. (Things That Are Orange)

Another self-explanatory group, but one that’s sneakier due to the random nature of its contents.

🟣Purple Group: Cowboy Coffee, Film Noir, Flyers Mascot, Sandpaper. (Things That Are Gritty)

‘Gritty’ means something different for each of these entries. The method of preparing cowboy coffee (without any paper filter) is quite rugged, hence gritty. Film noir is associated with raw and dark movies. The mascot of the Philadelphia Flyers is named ‘Gritty’. Lastly, the texture of sandpaper is gritty.

Answers to yesterday’s puzzle (#1,163, August 17, 2026)

🟡Yellow Group: Huddle, Meet, Teams, Zoom. (Video Call Platforms)

🟢Green Group: Formula, Function, Macro, Script. (Spreadsheet Features)

🔵Blue Group: Dolly, Johnny, Patsy, Willie. (First Names Of Country Music Legends)

🟣Purple Group: Birdie, Cattle, Dogie, Fisheye. (Starting With Pets)

Answers to NYT Connections #1,162 (August 16, 2026)

🟡Yellow Group: Concert, Gig, Set, Show. (Musical Performance)

🟢Green Group: Actor, Agent, Party, Player. (Participant)

🔵Blue Group: Grand, Great, Half, Step. (Family Relationship Modifiers)

🟣Purple Group: From Neander, Handy, Upright, Wise. (Descriptors For Our Human Ancestors)

Answers to NYT Connections #1,161 (August 15, 2026)

🟡Yellow Group: Beat, Fried, Spent, Worn Out. (Exhausted)

🟢Green Group: Leg, Phase, Stage, Stretch. (Segment)

🔵Blue Group: Chamomile, Grinch, Hotfoot, Lanyard. (Ending In Units Of Length)

🟣Purple Group: Beanstalk, Eyeshadow, Hightail, Soundtrack. (Ending In Synonyms For Follow Secretly)

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How did other Connectors do today?

NYT’s early testers rated today’s Connections puzzle 2.3 out of 5. This puts it in the medium difficulty level. Let us know how you fared in the comments!