NYT Connections hints and answers today, May 19, 2026

The The New York Times continues to expand the popularity of its daily puzzle lineup with NYT Connections, a word-association game that challenges players to identify hidden relationships between seemingly unrelated terms. The May 19 puzzle (#1073) delivers a mix of straightforward categories and deceptive wordplay, making it moderately tricky for regular players. Today’s board includes themes connected to infant behaviour, deceptive modifications, famous novels and hidden fish names, while the Purple category stands out as the most difficult because of its unusual missing-letter twist. This guide includes spoiler-free hints, the complete answers and a quick explanation of how the game 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 features four colour-coded difficulty levels: Yellow, Green, Blue and Purple, with each category becoming progressively harder.

Players receive a grid of 16 words and must sort them into four groups of four that share a hidden connection. These links may involve meanings, themes, phrases, pop culture, spelling patterns or wordplay, making the game both accessible and deceptively challenging.

NYT Connections hints for today

• Yellow: Things often associated with babies
• Green: Words linked to altering something dishonestly
• Blue: Titles connected to a famous American author
• Purple: Words that become fish after adding a missing letter

NYT Connections answers for May 19, 2026

Here are the correct groupings for today’s puzzle:

Yellow THINGS BABIES DO: BABBLE, CRAWL, CRY, TEETHE
Green MODIFY DECEPTIVELY: ALTER, COOK, DOCTOR, FUDGE
Blue JUDY BLUME BOOKS: BLUBBER, DEENIE, FOREVER, SUPERFUDGE
Purple WORDS THAT BECOME FISH WITH ONE LETTER ADDED: FOUNDER, NURSE, SALON, SURGEON

Why today’s puzzle was tricky

The May 19 puzzle became difficult mainly because several words appeared capable of fitting multiple themes. The Purple category especially confused many players because the connection depended on adding a missing letter to create fish names.



For example:
Founder becomes flounder
Salon becomes salmon
Surgeon becomes surgeonfish


The Blue category also challenged players unfamiliar with author Judy Blume and her well-known book titles.

Other NYT games to explore

If you enjoy Connections, The New York Times also offers several other popular puzzle games:

• Wordle: Guess a five-letter word within six attempts
• Spelling Bee: Create as many words as possible from a set of letters
• Mini Crossword: A shorter daily crossword challenge
• Strands: A modern puzzle that combines word-search mechanics with hidden themes