Today’s NYT Connections puzzle (game #1161) sorts 16 words into four hidden groups, and two of them share almost the same trick, which is exactly what trips most players up. If you want the quick version, the categories today are Exhausted, Segment, Ending in units of length, and Ending in synonyms for follow secretly.
Keep reading for hints if you want to solve it yourself first, or scroll down for the full answers.
What Is NYT Connections?
Connections is the New York Times’ daily word puzzle. You get a grid of 16 words and have to sort them into four groups of four, where each group shares a hidden theme.
The catch is that the game deliberately plants words that look like they belong in one group when they actually belong in another. You get four mistakes before the puzzle locks you out, so guessing randomly is a fast way to lose your streak.
Connections sits alongside Wordle and Strands as one of the most played entries in the NYT Games lineup, and a new puzzle drops every day at midnight local time.
Today’s Connections Words
Here is the full board for August 15, listed in alphabetical order so nothing is spoiled ahead of time:
BEANSTALK
BEAT
CHAMOMILE
EYESHADOW
FRIED
GRINCH
HIGHTAIL
HOTFOOT
LANYARD
LEG
PHASE
SOUNDTRACK
SPENT
STAGE
STRETCH
WORN OUT
NYT Connections Hints for August 15
These hints go from easiest to hardest, matching the game’s own yellow, green, blue, and purple difficulty order.
Yellow Group Hint
Think about how you feel at the end of a long, tiring day.
Green Group Hint
Each word can describe a piece or portion of something bigger.
Blue Group Hint
Don’t focus on what these words mean. Focus on how they end.
Purple Group Hint
This one also hides something in the ending, but the theme is about following someone without them noticing.
NYT Connections Answers for August 15
Here are the full solutions for game #1161.
Yellow: Exhausted
- BEAT
- FRIED
- SPENT
- WORN OUT
Green: Segment
- LEG
- PHASE
- STAGE
- STRETCH
Blue: Ending in units of length
- CHAMOMILE (mile)
- GRINCH (inch)
- HOTFOOT (foot)
- LANYARD (yard)
Purple: Ending in synonyms for follow secretly
- BEANSTALK (stalk)
- EYESHADOW (shadow)
- HIGHTAIL (tail)
- SOUNDTRACK (track)
Why Today’s Puzzle Was Tricky
Blue and purple both hide a word inside a longer word, and that overlap is what causes most of the wrong guesses. Once you notice CHAMOMILE ends in “mile” and GRINCH ends in “inch,” it is easy to assume every other odd word in the grid follows the same units-of-length pattern.
That assumption is exactly what leads people into the purple group by mistake. HOTFOOT does end in “foot,” which fits blue, but BEANSTALK, EYESHADOW, HIGHTAIL, and SOUNDTRACK all hide a different kind of word: STALK, SHADOW, TAIL, and TRACK, which are all synonyms for secretly following someone.
The safest strategy on days like this is to lock in the groups you’re fully confident about first, usually yellow and green, before touching anything that looks like a wordplay trap.
How to Avoid Losing Your Connections Streak
Solve the easiest group first instead of chasing the puzzle’s hardest category right away.
Watch for words that could fit two different groups, since NYT plants these on purpose.
If the game tells you that you’re “one away,” swap out the least confident word before guessing again.
Read every word’s ending, not just its meaning, whenever a puzzle feels harder than usual.
Conclusion
August 15’s Connections puzzle rewarded players who slowed down and checked word endings instead of relying on meaning alone. With Exhausted, Segment, Ending in units of length, and Ending in synonyms for follow secretly, today’s grid mixed a straightforward pair of categories with a genuinely sneaky wordplay trap in blue and purple.
Follow GamerUrge for daily NYT Connections hints and answers, along with Wordle, Strands, and the rest of your daily gaming and puzzle coverage.
