NYT Connections Hints, Answers – February 17, 2026 (#982)

Looking for today’s NYT Connections hints and answers for February 17, 2026? Puzzle #982 had one of those purple groups that makes you slow down and really look at each word.

This one was not super hard. But the last group was sneaky.

Let’s go step by step.

Puzzle date: Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Puzzle number: 982
Difficulty: 3.5/5

---

🟨 Hints First (No Spoilers)

If you’re still solving, here are light hints:

• Yellow: Very fast.
• Green: Think Chinese food.
• Blue: Flip pages quickly.
• Purple: Look for a hidden word that means failure.

Take your time with purple. Look inside the words.

---

✅ Full Answers for Connections #982

Ready?

🟨 Yellow – Zoom

• DART
• FLASH
• SPEED
• ZIP

All words about moving fast.

---

🟩 Green – Sauces in Chinese Cuisine

• HOISIN
• OYSTER
• PLUM
• SOY

If you cook or order takeout a lot, this one was easy.

---

🟦 Blue – Riffle (Through)

• FLIP
• LEAF
• SKIM
• THUMB

All ways to flip through pages quickly.

---

🟪 Purple – Starting With Synonyms for “Dud”

Each word starts with a word that means failure:

• BOMBAY (bomb)
• BUSTLE (bust)
• FLOPPY (flop)
• MISSUS (miss)

That was the trick. The failure word is hidden at the start.

Very clever.

---

Why Purple Was Tricky

You had to ignore the full word meaning.
You had to look at just the first part.
Connections loves this kind of pattern.

If you stared at those words wondering what they had in common, you were not alone.

---

Quick Tip for Future Puzzles

When nothing makes sense:

• Check the first few letters.
• Check the last few letters.
• Say the words out loud.

Sometimes the answer is hiding in plain sight.

---

FAQ – NYT Connections February 17, 2026

What are the answers for Connections #982?
Yellow: DART, FLASH, SPEED, ZIP
Green: HOISIN, OYSTER, PLUM, SOY
Blue: FLIP, LEAF, SKIM, THUMB
Purple: BOMBAY, BUSTLE, FLOPPY, MISSUS

Which group was hardest?
Most players found the purple group hardest.

How many mistakes can you make?
You get four wrong guesses before the game ends.

---

About the Author

Hi! I’m Anish. I really love the NYT games.

I play them every single morning with my coffee. It feels great to find the last word in the Bee or beat the Mini Crossword.

I write these posts to help you win your daily games. I share my best tips so you can keep your streak going. Let’s get those gold squares!