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NYT Connections May 16 2026 Answers

Puzzle #1070

EDITED BY WYNA LIU

Today's 16-word board, in its starting order:

THERMOSTAT PIANO PLAY FIDDLE FLUTE FORTE MESS BASSOON BELFAST STEIN LARGO TUMBLER TINKER NESQUICK COUPE ALLEGRO

Category hints (no spoilers)

Yellow — GLASSWARE
Green — MESS AROUND (WITH)
Blue — MUSIC PERFORMANCE DIRECTIONS
Purple — ENDING IN SYNONYMS FOR "ASAP"
GLASSWARECOUPE, FLUTE, STEIN, TUMBLER
MESS AROUND (WITH)FIDDLE, MESS, PLAY, TINKER
MUSIC PERFORMANCE DIRECTIONSALLEGRO, FORTE, LARGO, PIANO
ENDING IN SYNONYMS FOR "ASAP"BASSOON, BELFAST, NESQUICK, THERMOSTAT
Checked against the official NYT Connections solution

How Connections works

Connections gives you 16 words that form four secret groups of four. Find each group — yellow is the easiest, then green, blue, and the famously tricky purple. You're allowed four mistakes. A new puzzle drops daily at midnight; play free at nytimes.com.