NYT Connections Hints & Answers — Friday, May 15, 2026 (#1069)

Puzzle #1069. Start with a gentle nudge and work down — the full answers are at the bottom, hidden until you ask for them.

Just tell me the answer

The NYT Connections answer for Friday, May 15, 2026 (puzzle #1069) is: YELLOW — NAVIGATE THROUGH, AS A RIVER: CROSS, FORD, TRAVERSE, WADE. GREEN — MULTI-TIME NBA MVPS: BIRD, CURRY, JAMES, JORDAN. BLUE — NON-PALINDROMIC WORDS IN A FAMOUS PALINDROME: ABLE, ELBA, SAW, WAS. PURPLE — HOMOPHONES OF KINDS OF DOGS, FAMILIARLY: CIAO, PALM, PEEK, PITT.

Today's 16 words

The grid exactly as NYT laid it out for Friday, May 15, 2026. Nothing below this point is spoiled until you open it.

SAW
JORDAN
CROSS
PITT
ELBA
PALM
CIAO
FORD
WADE
BIRD
WAS
CURRY
JAMES
PEEK
ABLE
TRAVERSE

How hard is Connections #1069?

Medium52/100
  • One category runs on wordplay rather than meaning.
  • Lots of very short words, which carry more possible meanings.

Where to start: Every category here is meaning-based, so group by topic first and use the four-per-group constraint to settle any word that could go two ways.

Connections hints for Friday, May 15, 2026

Four levels, each giving away a little more. Open only as many as you need.

NYT Connections answers for Friday, May 15, 2026

Keep playing

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Common questions

What is the NYT Connections answer for Friday, May 15, 2026?

The NYT Connections answer for Friday, May 15, 2026 (puzzle #1069) is: YELLOW — NAVIGATE THROUGH, AS A RIVER: CROSS, FORD, TRAVERSE, WADE. GREEN — MULTI-TIME NBA MVPS: BIRD, CURRY, JAMES, JORDAN. BLUE — NON-PALINDROMIC WORDS IN A FAMOUS PALINDROME: ABLE, ELBA, SAW, WAS. PURPLE — HOMOPHONES OF KINDS OF DOGS, FAMILIARLY: CIAO, PALM, PEEK, PITT.

What is the purple group in Connections #1069?

The purple (hardest) group is "HOMOPHONES OF KINDS OF DOGS, FAMILIARLY": CIAO, PALM, PEEK, PITT.

What is the easiest group in today's Connections puzzle?

The yellow group is the most straightforward: "NAVIGATE THROUGH, AS A RIVER" — CROSS, FORD, TRAVERSE, WADE. Solving it first removes four words from the grid.

What number is today's Connections puzzle?

Friday, May 15, 2026 is NYT Connections puzzle #1069. Connections launched on 12 June 2023 with puzzle #1, and a new puzzle is published every day.

What time does a new NYT Connections puzzle come out?

A new Connections puzzle unlocks at midnight in your own local time zone, so the changeover happens at a different moment around the world. The puzzle itself is the same for everyone on a given date.