MEDIUMPuzzle #986

NYT Connections Hints & Answers (#986) – Today's Puzzle, Feb 21

TODAY'S NYT CONNECTIONS TIP

“Start by identifying EXPERIENCE (BACKGROUND, HISTORY...) to narrow down the remaining 16-word grid!”

Written by Naveed Ahmed · Updated: February 21, 2026

← Yesterday's Connections Hint (#985, Feb 20)

Connections Hint for Each Word Today

Tap any word to see its Connections hint — what it means in today's puzzle, no spoilers.

BACKGROUND hint: In the context of experience, "BACKGROUND" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

HISTORY hint: In the context of experience, "HISTORY" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

LIFE hint: In the context of experience, "LIFE" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

PAST hint: In the context of experience, "PAST" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

ABSENT hint: In the context of attendance status, "ABSENT" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

EXCUSED hint: In the context of attendance status, "EXCUSED" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

LATE hint: In the context of attendance status, "LATE" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

PRESENT hint: In the context of attendance status, "PRESENT" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

GREAT hint: In the context of commentary about your connections results, "GREAT" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

PERFECT hint: In the context of commentary about your connections results, "PERFECT" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

PHEW hint: In the context of commentary about your connections results, "PHEW" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

SOLID hint: In the context of commentary about your connections results, "SOLID" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

AUDITS hint: In this wordplay group, "AUDITS" fulfills the structural letter condition (such as anagrams, hidden words, or double letters).

DODGERS hint: In this wordplay group, "DODGERS" fulfills the structural letter condition (such as anagrams, hidden words, or double letters).

INFINITIVE hint: In this wordplay group, "INFINITIVE" fulfills the structural letter condition (such as anagrams, hidden words, or double letters).

MINION hint: In this wordplay group, "MINION" fulfills the structural letter condition (such as anagrams, hidden words, or double letters).

Hints uncovered0 / 16

Today's NYT Connections Hints for All Four Categories

Reveal progressively: see the category hint first, then the group name, then individual words — stop whenever you have enough.

🟡 Straightforward

🟢 Medium

🔵 Hard

🟣 Tricky

⚠️Traps & Misdirects Hints for Today’s Connections Puzzle

Today’s Connections puzzle includes words intentionally placed to misdirect you into wrong groups. These traps and misdirects hints reveal which words are designed to mislead, so you don’t burn your 4 allowed mistakes on deliberate decoys.

ABSENT, EXCUSED, LATE, PRESENT

In today's medium category (ATTENDANCE STATUS), pay close attention to subtle shifts in meaning. Words like ABSENT, EXCUSED, LATE, PRESENT may appear to belong to other everyday contexts, but their true connection lies in their shared relationship to ATTENDANCE STATUS.

AUDITS, DODGERS, INFINITIVE, MINION

The trickiest grouping today is "CAR BRANDS PLUS TWO LETTERS". Words such as AUDITS, DODGERS, INFINITIVE, MINION are designed as intentional misdirects. Look past their obvious surface meanings for hidden wordplay or secondary definitions.

GREAT, PERFECT, PHEW, SOLID

Be careful with overlap between GREAT, PERFECT, PHEW, SOLID and other categories on the board. The editor often places decoy pairings in "COMMENTARY ABOUT YOUR CONNECTIONS RESULTS" to trap unsuspecting players into using up their 4 allowed mistakes.

Today's NYT Connections Answers

Click to reveal the complete solution — all four categories.

Category: EXPERIENCE (Straightforward) — Answers: BACKGROUND, HISTORY, LIFE, PAST

Category: ATTENDANCE STATUS (Medium) — Answers: ABSENT, EXCUSED, LATE, PRESENT

Category: COMMENTARY ABOUT YOUR CONNECTIONS RESULTS (Hard) — Answers: GREAT, PERFECT, PHEW, SOLID

Category: CAR BRANDS PLUS TWO LETTERS (Tricky) — Answers: AUDITS, DODGERS, INFINITIVE, MINION

Today's NYT Connections Answers Explained

EXPERIENCE

The words BACKGROUND, HISTORY, LIFE, PAST all share a unique thematic connection as experience.

BACKGROUND

In the context of experience, "BACKGROUND" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

HISTORY

In the context of experience, "HISTORY" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

LIFE

In the context of experience, "LIFE" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

PAST

In the context of experience, "PAST" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

ATTENDANCE STATUS

The words ABSENT, EXCUSED, LATE, PRESENT all share a unique thematic connection as attendance status.

ABSENT

In the context of attendance status, "ABSENT" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

EXCUSED

In the context of attendance status, "EXCUSED" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

LATE

In the context of attendance status, "LATE" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

PRESENT

In the context of attendance status, "PRESENT" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

COMMENTARY ABOUT YOUR CONNECTIONS RESULTS

The words GREAT, PERFECT, PHEW, SOLID all share a unique thematic connection as commentary about your connections results.

GREAT

In the context of commentary about your connections results, "GREAT" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

PERFECT

In the context of commentary about your connections results, "PERFECT" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

PHEW

In the context of commentary about your connections results, "PHEW" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

SOLID

In the context of commentary about your connections results, "SOLID" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

CAR BRANDS PLUS TWO LETTERS

The words AUDITS, DODGERS, INFINITIVE, MINION all share a unique thematic connection as car brands plus two letters.

AUDITS

In this wordplay group, "AUDITS" fulfills the structural letter condition (such as anagrams, hidden words, or double letters).

DODGERS

In this wordplay group, "DODGERS" fulfills the structural letter condition (such as anagrams, hidden words, or double letters).

INFINITIVE

In this wordplay group, "INFINITIVE" fulfills the structural letter condition (such as anagrams, hidden words, or double letters).

MINION

In this wordplay group, "MINION" fulfills the structural letter condition (such as anagrams, hidden words, or double letters).

What Makes Today’s NYT Connections Puzzle Tricky?

ABSENT, EXCUSED, LATE, PRESENT sit alongside GREAT, PERFECT, PHEW, SOLID and phrases like AUDITS, DODGERS, INFINITIVE, MINION — a collision of distinct word groups and subtle misdirects.

The editor's sharpest trick is hiding a word-within-a-word: some of the multi-word phrases are not grouped by their topic but by what their first word secretly means.

How to Use Connections Hints

Everyone playing NYT Connections puzzle gets stuck at a different point. Some players can’t figure out a single word. Others have three groups solved and can’t find the fourth. Where you are stuck determines which connection hint you need.

A word in the puzzle has an unfamiliar meaning

Some words in today’s NYT Connections puzzle are uncommon. Connections editor Wyna Liu often uses words with specific or less familiar meanings, particularly in the green, blue, and purple categories. If you don’t know what a word means, you cannot reliably place it in a group.

Recommendation: Use the Word Hint. It tells you what the word means in the context of today’s puzzle. Tap any word directly on the board above to see its hint.

No groups are forming after reading all sixteen words

The connection between words is often not obvious from their meanings alone — categories are built around themes that require a specific angle to see. These category-level clues are the most useful hints.

Recommendation: Use the Category Hint. It points you toward the theme of a category without revealing the category name or which words belong to it. Tap “Yellow Category Hint” first.

You have a possible group but aren’t ready to guess

You think four words belong together but you’re not confident enough to guess. If you’re unsure, don’t guess yet — a wrong guess costs you one of your four mistakes.

Recommendation: Use the Category Name. It reveals the exact name of the category without showing you which words belong to it.

One word seems to fit more than one group

You have built a group of four words but one word in it could also fit somewhere else. NYT Connections editor Wyna Liu deliberately places misleading words on the board.

Recommendation: Use the Traps and Misdirects Hints. It identifies the specific misleading words in today’s puzzle and explains why they don’t belong where you think they do.

You know the category but can’t find all four words

You have identified the theme of a category but can’t find all four words that belong to it.

Recommendation: Use the Word Reveal. It uncovers one masked word at a time without revealing the full group. This is the most precise connection hint available.

One mistake left with two groups unsolved

You have one mistake remaining and two groups unsolved. If you guess wrong here, the game ends and NYT reveals all the answers automatically.

Recommendation: Do not guess yet. Use the Category Name for both remaining groups first. If that is still not enough, tap “Category Words” and reveal one word at a time.

You want today’s answers without solving the puzzle

Use the Answers section. It shows all four category names and the four words that belong to each one.

Recommendation: Go to the Answers section.

The puzzle is over but a category still doesn’t make sense

You can see the four groups and their words but the connection between them isn’t clear.

Recommendation: Use the Answer Explanation. It tells you exactly what connects the words in each category and why each individual word belongs there.

Browse Past Puzzles

View answers and hints for every previous NYT Connections puzzle.

Puzzle Archive →

Frequently Asked Questions

NYT Connections is a daily word puzzle by The New York Times where you group 16 words into 4 categories of 4 words each. Each category has a hidden theme color-coded by difficulty.

Yellow is the most straightforward category, Green is medium difficulty, Blue is harder, and Purple contains the trickiest, most misleading groupings.

Yes, NYT Connections is free to play once per day on the New York Times Games website.

A new NYT Connections puzzle releases every day at midnight in your local time zone (12:00 AM ET for US Eastern Time).

Naveed Ahmed

@NaveedAhmedDev•@naveedcolab

Lead Writer & Connections Puzzle Analyst

Naveed is a dedicated puzzle strategist and word game analyst who breaks down daily NYT Connections categories, uncovers tricky wordplay patterns, and delivers progressive, spoiler-free clues to help thousands of players solve every puzzle.