What is the NYT Connections answer for May 16 (#1070)?

The four groups are GLASSWARE (COUPE, FLUTE, STEIN, TUMBLER); MESS AROUND (WITH) (FIDDLE, MESS, PLAY, TINKER); MUSIC PERFORMANCE DIRECTIONS (ALLEGRO, FORTE, LARGO, PIANO); ENDING IN SYNONYMS FOR "ASAP" (BASSOON, BELFAST, NESQUICK, THERMOSTAT).

Which Connections group is hardest today?

The purple group — "ENDING IN SYNONYMS FOR "ASAP"" — is the trickiest, as it usually relies on wordplay or a hidden connection rather than a straightforward category.

What do the Connections colors mean?

Yellow is the easiest group, then green, then blue, and purple is the hardest — often involving wordplay or a hidden twist.

Saturday, May 16, 2026#1070

NYT Connections Hints & Answer — Saturday, May 16

DailyWordHints Editorial May 16

GLASSWARE

Easiest

MESS AROUND (WITH)

Easy

MUSIC PERFORMANCE DIRECTIONS

Tricky

ENDING IN SYNONYMS FOR "ASAP"

Hardest

Today's NYT Connections groups are GLASSWARE (yellow), MESS AROUND (WITH) (green), MUSIC PERFORMANCE DIRECTIONS (blue), ENDING IN SYNONYMS FOR "ASAP" (purple).

THERMOSTAT

PIANO

PLAY

FIDDLE

FLUTE

FORTE

MESS

BASSOON

BELFAST

STEIN

LARGO

TUMBLER

TINKER

NESQUICK

COUPE

ALLEGRO

Hints by group

yellowEasiest

greenEasy

blueTricky

purpleHardest

Full answers below

Today’s answers

yellowEasiest

greenEasy

blueTricky

purpleHardest

See all past Connections puzzles →

Today's Connections hints (no answers yet)

Here are spoiler-free nudges for NYT Connections #1070, Saturday, May 16. Reveal one color at a time and work from the easiest group (yellow) to the trickiest (purple).

How to use these hints

Each clue is written so it never names any of the sixteen words — it just points you in the right direction. Open the full answer only once you're truly stuck.

Strategy for solving today's grid

Lock in the group you're most confident about first to shrink the board, but resist the obvious four-of-a-kind — the puzzle almost always plants a word that fits two themes. Save the purple group for last; it usually hides the wordplay twist.

Frequently asked questions

What is the NYT Connections answer for May 16 (#1070)?: The four groups are GLASSWARE (COUPE, FLUTE, STEIN, TUMBLER); MESS AROUND (WITH) (FIDDLE, MESS, PLAY, TINKER); MUSIC PERFORMANCE DIRECTIONS (ALLEGRO, FORTE, LARGO, PIANO); ENDING IN SYNONYMS FOR "ASAP" (BASSOON, BELFAST, NESQUICK, THERMOSTAT).
Which Connections group is hardest today?: The purple group — "ENDING IN SYNONYMS FOR "ASAP"" — is the trickiest, as it usually relies on wordplay or a hidden connection rather than a straightforward category.
What do the Connections colors mean?: Yellow is the easiest group, then green, then blue, and purple is the hardest — often involving wordplay or a hidden twist.