NYT Connections · #1165

NYT Connections Hints & Answers (#1165) — August 19, 2026

By Sneha Rajput·August 19, 2026

“Work from the most concrete, literal meanings first — the words that can only mean one thing will anchor you before the shapeshifters pull you off course.”

NYT Connections hints for August 19, 2026

Three levels of help — a definition for every word, colour-coded group nudges, and a heads-up on the traps. Skip to all answers →

Word clues

A spoiler-free definition for every word in the grid. Tap the eye on any card to reveal which colour-group it belongs to.

1 ANTSLooks like insects — sounds like Antz, the 1998 DreamWorks CGI film starring a colony of worker ants.

2 BASEAdd 'ball' and you get America's pastime — though BASE has appeared in Connections many times in very different roles.

3 BASKETAdd 'ball' for the sport played on a court with hoops at each end.

4 BLANKETNot the thing on your bed — here it's a verb meaning to cover over and hide completely.

5 BREEZEA light wind, yes — but also the word you use when something takes zero effort.

6 CINCHOriginally a tight saddle strap; now it means a sure thing or dead-easy task.

7 COCOALooks like a hot drink — sounds close enough to Coco, Pixar's 2017 film set during Día de los Muertos, that the puzzle treats them as a match.

8 FOOTAdd 'ball' for the sport — though FOOT has shown up in Connections as a unit of length, a poetry term and more.

9 HIDEThe most direct word in the group; no twist, just the plain verb meaning to conceal.

10 MASKYou might think costume or face covering — here it means to disguise or suppress something.

11 OBSCUREOften used as an adjective meaning unknown, but here it's a verb: to block from view.

12 PICKLELooks like a briny vegetable or a sticky situation — add 'ball' for the fast-growing paddle sport.

13 PICNICLooks like an outdoor meal — here it means something requiring no effort at all.

14 RHEOAn obscure scientific prefix meaning 'flow' — its only purpose here is that it sounds exactly like Rio, the 2011 animated film.

15 SEOULThe capital of South Korea — sounds identical to Soul, Pixar's 2020 film about a jazz musician's journey.

16 SNAPThe quick-sound meaning is the bait; here it's slang for a task that's completely effortless.

Group hints

Four colour-coded groups, easiest → hardest. Every button reveals the hint, the category name, or a single word — tap only what you need.

See Hint

A walk in the park, a day off — these words share that feeling.

See Group

PIECE OF CAKE

See Word

BREEZE

See Word

CINCH

See Word

PICNIC

See Word

SNAP

See Hint

Sunglasses do this to your eyes; fog does it to a skyline.

See Group

CONCEAL

See Word

BLANKET

See Word

HIDE

See Word

MASK

See Word

OBSCURE

See Hint

One shared suffix and four very different sports snap into focus.

See Group

WORDS BEFORE "BALL" IN SPORT NAMES

See Word

BASE

See Word

BASKET

See Word

FOOT

See Word

PICKLE

See Hint

Say each one aloud — you might recognise a cinema poster.

See Group

HOMOPHONES OF CGI-ANIMATED FILMS

See Word

ANTS

See Word

COCOA

See Word

RHEO

See Word

SEOUL

Words the puzzle wants you to mis-group

Read these before you guess — they're the words most likely to break a streak. Tap for the trap.

1 ANTS Tap to see why this word traps.

You're probably picturing insects — that's the bait. The puzzle is using it phonetically, not as anything from the natural world.

2 COCOA Tap to see why this word traps.

You're probably reading it as a hot drink or chocolate ingredient, but the puzzle is using it for how it sounds, not what it is.

3 SEOUL Tap to see why this word traps.

You're probably thinking of the South Korean capital — but the puzzle wants what this word sounds like, not where it is on a map.

4 BLANKET Tap to see why this word traps.

You're probably picturing something cozy on a bed, but here it's a verb meaning to cover or conceal — not comfort, not warmth.

5 SNAP Tap to see why this word traps.

You're probably hearing a quick sound or thinking of a photo — but here the puzzle uses it as informal slang for something effortless.

NYT Connections answers for August 19, 2026

All four groups revealed, easiest first. Each card holds the theme, the four words, and why the group works.

Y PIECE OF CAKE · Yellow · easiest

BREEZE
CINCH
PICNIC
SNAP

BREEZE, CINCH, PICNIC and SNAP are all informal ways of saying something is easy. PICNIC is the sneakiest — most solvers picture a checkered blanket and sandwiches before the 'no trouble at all' meaning clicks.

G CONCEAL · Green · easy

BLANKET
HIDE
MASK
OBSCURE

BLANKET, HIDE, MASK and OBSCURE all mean to conceal or cover something up. BLANKET is the trickiest — the cozy-bedding image is strong, but as a verb it means to spread over and smother from view.

B WORDS BEFORE "BALL" IN SPORT NAMES · Blue · medium

BASE
BASKET
FOOT
PICKLE

BASE, BASKET, FOOT and PICKLE all precede 'ball' to name a sport: baseball, basketball, football and pickleball. PICKLE is the wildcard — pickleball only became a mainstream sport name recently, and the word pulls hard toward 'tricky situation' for many solvers.

P HOMOPHONES OF CGI-ANIMATED FILMS · Purple · hardest

ANTS
COCOA
RHEO
SEOUL

ANTS, COCOA, RHEO and SEOUL are near-homophones of CGI-animated film titles: Antz (1998), Coco (2017), Rio (2011) and Soul (2020). RHEO is the cruelest entry — almost no one recognises it as a word at all, which is exactly the point; its only job here is to sound like Rio.

Try another puzzle

Two more NazoKai hints, ready when you are.

Wordle

Today's hint ladder & answer

Open

Spelling Bee

Answers, pangram & word list

Open