What is the NYT Connections answer for August 19 (#1165)?

The four groups are PIECE OF CAKE (BREEZE, CINCH, PICNIC, SNAP); CONCEAL (BLANKET, HIDE, MASK, OBSCURE); WORDS BEFORE "BALL" IN SPORT NAMES (BASE, BASKET, FOOT, PICKLE); HOMOPHONES OF CGI-ANIMATED FILMS (ANTS, COCOA, RHEO, SEOUL).

Which Connections group is hardest today?

The purple group — "HOMOPHONES OF CGI-ANIMATED FILMS" — 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.

Wednesday, August 19, 2026#1165

NYT Connections Hints & Answer — Wednesday, August 19

DailyWordHints Editorial August 19

PIECE OF CAKE

Easiest

CONCEAL

Easy

WORDS BEFORE "BALL" IN SPORT NAMES

Tricky

HOMOPHONES OF CGI-ANIMATED FILMS

Hardest

Today's NYT Connections groups are PIECE OF CAKE (yellow), CONCEAL (green), WORDS BEFORE "BALL" IN SPORT NAMES (blue), HOMOPHONES OF CGI-ANIMATED FILMS (purple).

PICNIC

BASKET

BREEZE

ANTS

BLANKET

COCOA

PICKLE

FOOT

SNAP

BASE

MASK

SEOUL

OBSCURE

RHEO

CINCH

HIDE

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 #1165, Wednesday, August 19. 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 19 (#1165)?: The four groups are PIECE OF CAKE (BREEZE, CINCH, PICNIC, SNAP); CONCEAL (BLANKET, HIDE, MASK, OBSCURE); WORDS BEFORE "BALL" IN SPORT NAMES (BASE, BASKET, FOOT, PICKLE); HOMOPHONES OF CGI-ANIMATED FILMS (ANTS, COCOA, RHEO, SEOUL).
Which Connections group is hardest today?: The purple group — "HOMOPHONES OF CGI-ANIMATED FILMS" — 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.