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Here are spoiler-safe hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Sunday, August 16, 2026, game #1162. If you’re solving now, start with the four color-coded clues, then check the board before revealing the groups.
Hints for the August 16 Connections puzzle
These clues move from broad to more revealing. The category names and answers are below.
- Yellow: Live music.
- Green: A member of a group, event, or incident.
- Blue: Words that can come before “brother” or “mother.”
- Purple: Do the evolution.
The 16 words on the board
Try grouping these terms before scrolling to the solutions:
STEP, FROM NEANDER, GIG, AGENT, GRAND, WISE, SHOW, HALF, PLAYER, CONCERT, HANDY, PARTY, GREAT, SET, ACTOR, UPRIGHT
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Answers for August 16, 2026
Each group below contains four words. The category labels and solutions reveal the full answer key.
Yellow — Musical Performance
CONCERT, GIG, SET, SHOW
Green — Participant
PLAYER, ACTOR, AGENT, PARTY
Blue — Family Relationship Modifiers
HALF, STEP, GREAT, GRAND
Each word can modify a family relationship such as “brother” or “mother.”
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Purple — Descriptors for Our Human Ancestors
UPRIGHT, WISE, HANDY, FROM NEANDER
“From Neander” completes the ancestor-related set alongside “upright,” “wise,” and “handy.”
Why the groups can be easy to mix up
Some words point toward more than one plausible association. GRAND and CONCERT can bring pianos to mind, while GIG and UPRIGHT can also be linked with pianos. The intended grouping instead separates musical performances from family modifiers and ancestor descriptors.
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Connections presents 16 terms and asks you to sort them into four groups of four by a shared category or link. Some links rely on wordplay, and apparent patterns can be red herrings. The groups are marked yellow, green, blue, and purple, with yellow generally the most straightforward and purple the most difficult.
Forbes’ August 16, 2026 guide identifies this as game #1162 and reports the answer set; it is editorial coverage rather than an official NYT answer key. The year matters: August 16, 2025 had a different puzzle.
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