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NYT Connections is a challenging daily puzzle game that offers players a set of 16 words to arrange into four themed sets.
The theme presents four distinct themes every day, without any connection between them.
It tests vocabulary skills by requiring players to discover hidden links without the themes initially stated.
NYT Connections May 23, 2026, grid is live with four new themes and 16 connected words. When you look at the grid, initially, it seems completely meaningless with random words. The task of players is to discover the hidden links between these words. Quick glimpses won’t give you any clues. With careful observation, these words reveal the four sets of today.
The world of word puzzles is massive, but hardly any others compete with the puzzles that The New York Times presents. Whether it's NYT Strands, Connections, or Wordle, each of these web-based word puzzles has its own word-guessing method.
In NYT Connections, the theme isn’t stated initially, but once players guess the right sets, the game reveals the themes:
This puzzle is tricky, but some clues may make things easier for gamers. Here are some hints to help players solve today’s puzzle. Let’s start with the category-wise hints:
Yellow group: Hairdos
Green group: More readily
Blue group: Marvel characters
Purple group: Words after "The" in "Star Wars" movie titles
If you are still a bit confused about the themes of today’s puzzle, below are the one-word hints. From every category, one word is listed below:
Yellow group hint word: BEEHIVE
Green group hint word: FIRST
Blue group hint word: DAREDEVIL
Purple group hint word: EMPIRE
These hints will help you identify what other words of the category may contain.
The given hints have hopefully resolved the confusion and helped players form groups with few errors. However, if that’s not the case and some are still trying to figure out today's word groups, here are the solutions to the NYT Connections of May 23, 2026.
Yellow Category (Hairdos): BEEHIVE, BOUFFANT, CHIGNON, POMPADOUR
Green Category (More readily): FIRST, PREFERABLY, RATHER, SOONER
Blue Category (Marvel characters): DAREDEVIL, HAWKEYE, NIGHTCRAWLER, WOLVERINE
Purple Category (Words after "The" in "Star Wars" movie titles): EMPIRE, FORCE, LAST, PHANTOM
These are the four categories for today’s puzzle, and congratulations to those who have solved it without any help.
Also Read: How to Make Your Own NYT Connections Game?
Check out the image below to know how to make the sets of today’s puzzle:
NYT Connections’ highlight is its four different themes. Most NYT puzzles have one theme, and the words are all related to that specific theme. However, it changes when it comes to NYT Connections. Every day, there are four new themes that captivate puzzle enthusiasts around the world.
Without a sound knowledge of the connection between words, there’s no way one can guess the exact word groups without help. The solution not only provides players with a satisfying experience but also enriches their vocabulary.
Also Read: NYT Connections Hints and Answers for May 19, 2026 (Puzzle #1073)
