Connections August 16, 2026: Hints & Answers (#1247)
Recap
The groups for this puzzle were fairly distinct, with 'MUSICAL PERFORMANCE' being the easiest to spot, while 'DESCRIPTORS FOR OUR HUMAN ANCESTORS' proved to be the most challenging. Cards like 'PARTY' and 'SHOW' required careful consideration to place correctly.
The sixteen tiles
The sixteen tiles as dealt. Reveal a group below to tint and caption its tiles here.
Connections hints, one rung at a time
Six rungs, softest first. The recap above already named the groups, so this ladder is here for anyone replaying the board fresh rather than as a spoiler shield.
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Hint 1: Four one-line nudges, one per group
The softest hint there is.
- Yellow
- Live music
- Green
- Involved person
- Blue
- Relationship terms
- Purple
- Early human traits
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Hint 2: What linked each group, described
Still no titles and no tiles named.
Yellow group
These words describe a type of event or performance where music is played in front of an audience.
Green group
These terms refer to individuals who take part in or are involved in something, often in a specific role.
Blue group
These words are used to describe or modify familial relationships, indicating a specific type or degree of connection.
Purple group
These phrases are used to describe or characterize our ancient human ancestors, highlighting specific qualities or features.
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Hint 3: Board facts
Counted off the sixteen printed tiles.
Sixteen tiles, four groups of four, ordered yellow → green → blue → purple from most to least obvious. 1 of the sixteen tile was more than one word.
- Tiles
- 16 across 4 groups
- Longest tile
- 12 characters
- Shortest tile
- 3 characters
- Multi-word tiles
- 1
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Hint 4: The trap on this board
Which tiles pulled in two directions.
Some cards could fit into more than one group, especially those that describe people or relationships, such as 'PARTY' or 'SHOW'. Be careful not to confuse the categories.
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Hint 5: The four category titles
Half the answer.
- Yellow
- MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
- Green
- PARTICIPANT
- Blue
- FAMILY RELATIONSHIP MODIFIERS
- Purple
- DESCRIPTORS FOR OUR HUMAN ANCESTORS
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Hint 6: One tile from each group
The anchor most people misplaced, matched to its title.
- Yellow — MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
- SET
- Green — PARTICIPANT
- AGENT
- Blue — FAMILY RELATIONSHIP MODIFIERS
- GREAT
- Purple — DESCRIPTORS FOR OUR HUMAN ANCESTORS
- WISE
Every Connections group from that board
All four groups, folded. Opening one tints its four tiles above and captions them with the category name.
Yellow group · 4 tiles
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
CONCERT, GIG, SET, SHOW. The yellow group, 'MUSICAL PERFORMANCE', includes 'CONCERT', 'GIG', 'SET', and 'SHOW', all terms used to describe live music events.
Green group · 4 tiles
PARTICIPANT
ACTOR, AGENT, PARTY, PLAYER. The green group, 'PARTICIPANT', consists of 'ACTOR', 'AGENT', 'PARTY', and 'PLAYER', terms that describe individuals involved in various activities.
Blue group · 4 tiles
FAMILY RELATIONSHIP MODIFIERS
GRAND, GREAT, HALF, STEP. The blue group, 'FAMILY RELATIONSHIP MODIFIERS', comprises 'GRAND', 'GREAT', 'HALF', and 'STEP', words used to specify familial relationships.
Purple group · 4 tiles
DESCRIPTORS FOR OUR HUMAN ANCESTORS
FROM NEANDER, HANDY, UPRIGHT, WISE. The purple group, 'DESCRIPTORS FOR OUR HUMAN ANCESTORS', includes 'FROM NEANDER', 'HANDY', 'UPRIGHT', and 'WISE', phrases used to describe early human characteristics.
This board by the numbers
- Puzzle
- (#1247) · Sunday, August 16, 2026
- Tiles
- 16 in a 4 × 4 grid
- Groups
- 4, yellow to purple
- Multi-word tiles
- 1
- Longest tile
- FROM NEANDER
- Mistakes allowed
- 4 before the board locked
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