The New York Times Connections puzzle challenges players to sort 16 seemingly unrelated words into four connected groups. Each group shares a hidden link. Today’s grid (#982) blends speedy motion, culinary staples, reading habits, and a wordplay twist on failures, offering a mix of straightforward and sly categories. Below you’ll find gentle hints to guide your thinking, followed by the complete solutions once you’re ready to check your work.
NYT Connections Puzzle Overview: 17 February 2026
Today’s puzzle felt moderate overall. The yellow category connects obvious action words for quick movement, while green draws from familiar kitchen condiments. Blue taps everyday reading behaviors, and purple hides a prefix-based pun that rewards lateral thinking. It was a solid daily challenge with the purple group as the standout brain-bender.
NYT Connections Hints: 17 February 2026
Category 1 (Yellow):
-
Words describing rapid movement.
-
They all evoke going very fast.
-
Think racing or blurring by.
-
Often used as verbs for hurry.
Category 2 (Green):
-
Condiments common in Chinese cooking.
-
Found in bottles at Asian markets.
-
Used for stir-fries and dips.
-
Sweet, salty, or umami flavors.
Category 3 (Blue):
-
Ways to quickly browse pages.
-
Actions for skimming books or papers.
-
Casual reading techniques.
-
Like thumbing through a magazine.
Category 4 (Purple):
-
Begin with slang for something that flops.
-
Prefixes mean dud or failure.
-
Ignore the full meaning first.
-
Spot “bomb,” “bust,” “flop,” and “miss.”
NYT Connections Answers: 17 February 2026
Here are the answers, grouped by category with the words listed vertically for clarity.
Category 1
Category 2
Category 3
Category 4
Conclusion & Quick Strategy Tip
The 17 February 2026 Connections puzzle (#982) balances intuitive themes like speed and sauces with trickier ones like page actions and dud prefixes, making it engaging for all skill levels. Quick strategy tip: group the most obvious matches first (like verbs or food terms), then test the leftovers for sound-alikes, prefixes, or cultural ties to crack purple fast.
