NYT Connections Solution And Hints For August 17, 2026

3 weeks ago 13

Published Aug 17, 2026, 11:00 AM EDT

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Today's Connections has several terms you'll recognize if you work in an online sector, but also a variety of phrases that are far more grounded. This creates a split between concepts, almost building a clash between technology and older ideas from a tech-free countryside. Although the puzzle is quite tricky, players who have a knowledge of both paths will find it easier to solve.

You only have four chances to make a mistake before losing a game of Connections, limiting your options as you play. The best advice for any day of Connections is to take your time to understand many possible contexts one phrase could mean besides what seems obvious. Similar to the Letter Boxed NYT puzzles, you have to find patterns to correctly discover the right path.

Today's Connections Category Hints

August 17 #1164

Unlike some past Connections puzzles, you have to think about how terms are used in a broader context rather than a specific one. Instead of sounding out anything today, imagine how various words could refer to certain nouns, whether they are titles, people, etc. Some of the time, the words in the puzzle are hidden parts of a greater whole, or can be broken down to reveal different category themes.

If you want to know some hints regarding today's puzzle categories, check out these clues below:

One category is about programs used to initiate online conversations with others.
One category is about technological terms within organized systems that feature cells, rows, and columns.
One category is about partial titles for famous musicians within a certain genre.
One category is about phrases that begin with words tied to domestic creatures.

If you want to go all out with some of your clue-searching, you should look at the category names to get some extra help. There are also spoilers for each category if you find yourself needing to solve a single category to finish up.

	VIDEO CALL PLATFORMS
	SPREADSHEET FEATURES
	FIRST NAMES OF COUNTRY MUSIC LEGENDS
	STARTING WITH PETS

Today's Connections Answers

August 17 #1164

Yellow Answers: Revealed & Explained

VIDEO CALL PLATFORMS

HUDDLE

MEET

ZOOM

TEAMS

As someone whose work involves a variety of meetings online, words like MEET and TEAMS were easy to recognize when starting this puzzle. Anyone who's been on a ZOOM call for any reason can understand the word's context beyond magnifying the image of something. Likewise, putting HUDDLE in this group of four completes this category as four different programs used for video calls.

Green Answers: Revealed & Explained

SPREADSHEET FEATURES

FORMULA

FUNCTION

MACRO

SCRIPT

One of the first words I recognized in today's puzzle was MACRO, a word often associated with technology and coding functions. Other players may put FORMULA and FUNCTION together as two words frequently used in mathematics, which have a close relationship with computer science. With both of those patterns in mind, putting a code SCRIPT into this category's equation brings up the right solution.

Blue Answers: Revealed & Explained

FIRST NAMES OF COUNTRY MUSIC LEGENDS

DOLLY

JOHNNY

PATSY

WILLIE

Even if you don't know country music, you can start forming this category by recognizing how certain terms can just be names for people. For example, DOLLY and JOHNNY can be either names or nicknames, with WILLIE also fitting that pattern. Once you recognize all the meanings of PATSY not fitting the puzzle, you can see it as a name too, helping form the right answer.

Purple Answers: Revealed & Explained

STARTING WITH PETS

BIRDIE

CATTLE

DOGIE

FISHEYE

This part of the puzzle tricked me somewhat, as I first thought that DOGIE and BIRDIE were together as childish names for pets. This was only partially true, so trying to include DOLLY as a childish name for a toy (or something a child would play with) led to a mistake. By breaking down these words, you'll discover that "bird," "cat," "dog," and "fish" will be in BIRDIE, CATTLE, DOGIE, and FISHEYE respectfully, forming a complete category in today's Connections.