NYT Connections Answer

Today is February 23, 2026, and Wyna Liu has served up a fascinating mix of vocabulary for today's NYT Connections. If you found yourself staring at a list of words that felt like they belonged in a kitchen, a geometry class, and a romantic movie all at once, you aren't alone!

Today’s puzzle is a great example of how the game uses "hidden in plain sight" words. Whether you are looking for a quick NYT Connections hint or the full answer for 2026-02-23, I've got you covered with a breakdown of each group.

Difficulty Reflection

Today’s grid feels like a solid 3 out of 5 in terms of difficulty. The yellow and green categories are relatively straightforward if you spot the patterns, but the purple category requires a bit of cultural knowledge regarding traditions. The blue category also has some tricky synonyms for "pretending" that might trip you up.

Category Hints & Answers

Yellow: EAT VORACIOUSLY

Hint: These are all verbs used to describe eating something very quickly or in large quantities.

• BOLT
• GORGE
• INHALE
• SCARF

Explanation: We’ve all been there—when you're so hungry you don't just eat your lunch, you INHALE it. These words all represent the act of consuming food with speed or greed. To SCARF something down or BOLT your food implies you aren't exactly practicing mindful eating!

Green: CONICAL THINGS

Hint: Look at the physical shape of these items. What do they have in common geometrically?

• CHRISTMAS TREE
• CONE
• PARTY HAT
• VOLCANO

Explanation: This is a classic "visual" category. From the festive PARTY HAT to a towering VOLCANO, all four of these items taper to a point at the top, forming a cone shape. Including the word CONE itself is a classic Wyna Liu move—it's so obvious that it sometimes makes you second-guess yourself!

Blue: POSE

Hint: These words involve putting on an act or maintaining a certain physical or social stance.

• BLUFF
• FRONT
• MASQUERADE
• POSTURE

Explanation: These words function as both nouns and verbs. To FRONT or BLUFF is to pretend to be something you aren't, while to POSTURE or MASQUERADE involves a level of performance or "posing" to deceive others or project a specific image.

Purple: SETTINGS FOR A KISS

Hint: Think of famous traditions or locations where a "smooch" is the main event.

• BLARNEY STONE
• MISTLETOE
• NEW YEAR'S EVE
• WEDDING

Explanation: This is the "clever" category of the day. Each of these is a famous context for a kiss. You kiss the BLARNEY STONE in Ireland for the "gift of gab," you kiss under the MISTLETOE at Christmas, you find a partner at the stroke of midnight on NEW YEAR'S EVE, and a WEDDING famously concludes with "you may now kiss the bride."

Summary for February 23, 2026

If you managed to solve this today, congratulations! The trickiest part was likely distinguishing between the verbs in the "Eat" category and the "Pose" category, as they both deal with actions. However, once you spotted the "Conical Things," the rest of the board usually starts to fall into place.

Quick Definitions:

• Blarney Stone: A block of carboniferous limestone built into the battlements of Blarney Castle, Ireland. Legend says kissing it gives you the gift of eloquent speech.
• Gorge: To eat greedily; also a narrow valley between hills (though the verb form is what we needed today).
• Scarf: In this context, it's a slang verb meaning to eat voraciously (often followed by "down").

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How do you play NYT Connections?

In Connections, you are presented with a 4x4 grid of 16 words. Your goal is to group them into four sets of four by finding a common thread between them. Each group is color-coded by difficulty: Yellow (easiest), Green, Blue, and Purple (hardest). You have four lives; every time you guess a group incorrectly, you lose a life.

When does the NYT Connections puzzle reset?

The puzzle resets daily at midnight in your local time zone. This means you can always start your morning with a fresh set of words!

Can there be more than one correct answer?

While some words might seem like they fit in multiple categories, there is only one unique solution where every word belongs to exactly one group. If you find a word that fits in two places, look for the other words to see which category it must belong to for the puzzle to work.

Who edits the NYT Connections?

The game is currently edited by Wyna Liu, who is known for her clever wordplay and "red herring" words that try to lead players down the wrong path.