Connections August 18, 2026: Hints & Answers (#1255)
Recap
The connections ranged from glamorous events to multiple meanings, vibrant colors, and rough textures. Solvers had to carefully consider the associations and characteristics of each card to place them 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
- Glamour Event
- Green
- Multiple Meanings
- Blue
- Vibrant Color
- Purple
- Rough Texture
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Hint 2: What linked each group, described
Still no titles and no tiles named.
Yellow group
These phrases evoke the excitement and exclusivity of a high-profile event, often associated with celebrities and special premieres.
Green group
These abbreviations or acronyms have different meanings, often unrelated, and can be confusing without context.
Blue group
These items or objects are all associated with the color orange, which is often used for visibility or to evoke warmth.
Purple group
These items or concepts are all characterized by their coarse or rough quality, often used to describe something harsh or unrefined.
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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. 11 of the sixteen tiles were more than one word.
- Tiles
- 16 across 4 groups
- Longest tile
- 15 characters
- Shortest tile
- 9 characters
- Multi-word tiles
- 11
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Hint 4: The trap on this board
Which tiles pulled in two directions.
Some cards, like 'PETROLEUM JELLY' and 'TRAFFIC CONE', might seem out of place, but consider their connections carefully. Cards like 'FLYERS MASCOT' and 'FILM NOIR' could fit into multiple categories at first glance.
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Hint 5: The four category titles
Half the answer.
- Yellow
- SEEN AT A MOVIE PREMIERE
- Green
- PJS
- Blue
- THINGS THAT ARE ORANGE
- Purple
- THINGS THAT ARE GRITTY
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Hint 6: One tile from each group
The anchor most people misplaced, matched to its title.
- Yellow — SEEN AT A MOVIE PREMIERE
- PAPARAZZI
- Green — PJS
- PRIVATE JET
- Blue — THINGS THAT ARE ORANGE
- SWEET POTATO
- Purple — THINGS THAT ARE GRITTY
- SANDPAPER
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
SEEN AT A MOVIE PREMIERE
LIMOUSINE, PAPARAZZI, RED CARPET, VELVET ROPE. The yellow group, 'SEEN AT A MOVIE PREMIERE', consists of 'LIMOUSINE', 'PAPARAZZI', 'RED CARPET', and 'VELVET ROPE', all of which are associated with the glamour and excitement of movie premieres.
Green group · 4 tiles
PJS
PETROLEUM JELLY, POETIC JUSTICE, PRACTICAL JOKE, PRIVATE JET. The green group, 'PJS', comprises 'PETROLEUM JELLY', 'POETIC JUSTICE', 'PRACTICAL JOKE', and 'PRIVATE JET', which all share the 'PJ' abbreviation or acronym.
Blue group · 4 tiles
THINGS THAT ARE ORANGE
BASKETBALL, ORANGUTAN, SWEET POTATO, TRAFFIC CONE. The blue group, 'THINGS THAT ARE ORANGE', includes 'BASKETBALL', 'ORANGUTAN', 'SWEET POTATO', and 'TRAFFIC CONE', all of which are associated with the color orange.
Purple group · 4 tiles
THINGS THAT ARE GRITTY
COWBOY COFFEE, FILM NOIR, FLYERS MASCOT, SANDPAPER. The purple group, 'THINGS THAT ARE GRITTY', consists of 'COWBOY COFFEE', 'FILM NOIR', 'FLYERS MASCOT', and 'SANDPAPER', which all have a rough or coarse quality.
This board by the numbers
- Puzzle
- (#1255) · Tuesday, August 18, 2026
- Tiles
- 16 in a 4 × 4 grid
- Groups
- 4, yellow to purple
- Multi-word tiles
- 11
- Longest tile
- PETROLEUM JELLY
- Mistakes allowed
- 4 before the board locked
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