What is the NYT Connections answer for August 22 (#1168)?

The four groups are CARPENTRY TOOLS (CHISEL, HAMMER, PLANE, SAW); KINDS OF MELON (BITTER, MUSK, WATER, WINTER); GARDEN HOSE SETTINGS (CONE, JET, MIST, SHOWER); ___ GIRLS OF POP CULTURE (GILMORE, GOLDEN, MEAN, SPICE).

Which Connections group is hardest today?

The purple group — "___ GIRLS OF POP CULTURE" — 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, August 22, 2026#1168

NYT Connections Hints & Answer — Saturday, August 22

DailyWordHints Editorial August 22

CARPENTRY TOOLS

Easiest

KINDS OF MELON

Easy

GARDEN HOSE SETTINGS

Tricky

___ GIRLS OF POP CULTURE

Hardest

Today's NYT Connections groups are CARPENTRY TOOLS (yellow), KINDS OF MELON (green), GARDEN HOSE SETTINGS (blue), ___ GIRLS OF POP CULTURE (purple).

BITTER

SPICE

MEAN

WINTER

HAMMER

CONE

PLANE

JET

GOLDEN

SAW

MIST

MUSK

GILMORE

CHISEL

WATER

SHOWER

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 #1168, Saturday, August 22. 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 August 22 (#1168)?: The four groups are CARPENTRY TOOLS (CHISEL, HAMMER, PLANE, SAW); KINDS OF MELON (BITTER, MUSK, WATER, WINTER); GARDEN HOSE SETTINGS (CONE, JET, MIST, SHOWER); ___ GIRLS OF POP CULTURE (GILMORE, GOLDEN, MEAN, SPICE).
Which Connections group is hardest today?: The purple group — "___ GIRLS OF POP CULTURE" — 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.