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Need a nudge before the spoilers? Connections #984, for February 19, 2026, groups its tiles around Easter supplies, fireplace tools, Saturday Night Fever and cooking-method sound-alikes. Start with the progressive hints below, then open the full groups when you’re ready.
Progressive hints for Connections #984
Each clue points toward a category without listing its four tiles. Stop when you have enough to solve the board.
- Yellow: Think of a spring holiday and its familiar decorations or candy.
- Green: Think of tools and implements kept beside a fire.
- Blue: Think of a famous 1970s dance film and the style associated with it.
- Purple: Say the words aloud; they sound like cooking methods.
Connections #984 answers
Spoilers ahead: the complete categories and tiles are listed below.
Yellow: Easter supplies
BASKET, DYE, EGGS, PEEPS. A basket can hold treats, dye is used to decorate eggs, and Peeps are marshmallow candy associated with the holiday.
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Green: Fireplace accessories
BELLOWS, POKER, SHOVEL, TONGS. These are implements used to tend a fireplace.
Blue: Elements of Saturday Night Fever
DISCO, JOHN TRAVOLTA, PLATFORM SHOES, POLYESTER SUIT. The group evokes the film, its star and its dance-era style. On the board, the clothing phrases are split into separate tiles: PLATFORM and SHOES, and POLYESTER and SUIT.
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Purple: Homophones of ways to cook something
BOYLE, BRAYS, SEER, STU. Say them aloud and they sound like boil, braise, sear and stew.
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- Pair JOHN TRAVOLTA with DISCO. Those distinctive anchors point toward Saturday Night Fever; look for the two clothing-related pairs to complete the group.
- Set aside BELLOWS, POKER, SHOVEL and TONGS as fireplace implements.
- From the remaining tiles, find the Easter connections: basket, dye, eggs and Peeps.
- Read the last four tiles aloud to catch the cooking-verb homophones.
This is one useful route through the board, not an official New York Times solving order. TechRadar’s February 19 guide lists the 16 tiles as PEEPS, POKER, DISCO, STU, SHOVEL, BRAYS, BASKET, BELLOWS, BOYLE, JOHN TRAVOLTA, TONGS, DYE, PLATFORM, SHOES, EGGS, SEER, POLYESTER and SUIT. The published groups account for the split clothing phrases as PLATFORM SHOES and POLYESTER SUIT.
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How difficult was Connections #984?
PC Guide reported a New York Times difficulty rating of 1.5 out of 5 for this puzzle. TechRadar reported that players could make up to four mistakes. Those ratings and rules are reported by those outlets; they are not a measure of how difficult the categories will feel to any particular solver.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.When does the daily puzzle appear?
Connections is a daily word game from The New York Times in which players sort 16 words into four groups of four. It is playable on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile. TechRadar contributor Johnny Dee notes that a new puzzle appears at midnight for each time zone, so “today’s” game can differ depending on where a player is.
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