NYT Connections Hints, Answers – February 16, 2026 (#981)

Looking for today’s NYT Connections hints and answers for February 16, 2026? Puzzle #981 had some genuinely unusual categories. A couple were straightforward, but the purple group especially could sneak up on you.

Let’s break it down.

Puzzle date: Monday, February 16, 2026
Puzzle number: 981
Game: Connections (The New York Times)
Difficulty: 4/5 ⭐

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🟨 Connections Hints for Feb. 16 (#981)

If you’re still solving, here are spoiler-free hints:

• Yellow group hint: Good joke!
• Green group hint: They all sound like Homer Simpson.
• Blue group hint: Bwack-bwack!
• Purple group hint: Oh no! What now?

Take a second and look for words that share sound patterns. Today’s puzzle leaned heavily on phonetics.

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✅ Today’s Connections Answers

Ready?

🟨 Yellow – Knee Slapper

• HOOT
• LAUGH
• RIOT
• SCREAM

All words you might use to describe something hilarious.

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🟩 Green – Homophones

• DO
• DOE
• DOH
• DOUGH

Same sound, different spellings. This one clicks fast once you spot two of them.

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🟦 Blue – Sounds a Chicken Makes

• BUCK
• CACKLE
• CLUCK
• SQUAWK

If “cluck” jumps out at you, the rest fall into place quickly.

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🟪 Purple – Stress Responses

• FAWN
• FIGHT
• FLIGHT
• FREEZE

You’ve probably heard of fight-or-flight — but fawn and freeze complete the psychological stress response set.

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🧠 Why This Puzzle Was Tricky

• Green and Blue both relied on sound patterns.
• Purple required recognizing a psychology concept, not just word meaning.
• Yellow was simple — but only once you separated it from similar emotional words.

If you solved purple last, you weren’t alone.

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📅 Yesterday’s Connections

Feb. 15 (#980) included reference books, memory triggers, complexes, and phone-related word starters.

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💡 Quick Strategy Tip

When you see:

• Words that look similar → Check for homophones.
• Animal-related terms → Try grouping by sound.
• Abstract verbs → Consider psychology or behavior themes.

Connections loves mixing literal meaning with sound-based tricks.

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❓ FAQ – NYT Connections February 16, 2026

What are the answers for Connections #981?
Yellow: HOOT, LAUGH, RIOT, SCREAM
Green: DO, DOE, DOH, DOUGH
Blue: BUCK, CACKLE, CLUCK, SQUAWK
Purple: FAWN, FIGHT, FLIGHT, FREEZE

Which category was hardest?
Most players struggled with the purple “stress responses” group.

How many mistakes are allowed?
You get four incorrect guesses before the puzzle ends.

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How’d you do today? Perfect game or purple struggle?

Tomorrow’s puzzle resets the board again.