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Need a nudge for NYT Connections puzzle #983? Start with the category hints below, then reveal one word per group or jump to the full solution. The answer section contains spoilers.
How to use these Connections hints
Connections asks you to sort 16 words into four groups of four based on a shared link. Some words can fit more than one tempting pattern, so try the graduated clues before reading the answers. The February 17, 2026 guide describes three incorrect guesses as allowable; a fourth ends the game. It also reports that the daily puzzle is available on the New York Times website and Games app, with the archive accessible to All Access or Games subscribers. Those are details reported in that dated guide, not current subscription terms. Forbes guide by Kris Holt, February 17, 2026.
Hints for Wednesday, February 18
These clues move from broad category nudges to a single revealed word for each group.
Category hints
- Yellow: Instructions at a mall salon, perhaps.
- Green: These were radical back in the day.
- Blue: Like brown, broiled and domestic.
- Purple: As in an expression Randy Savage used for the best of the best, this group rises to the top.
One word from each group
- Yellow: FEATHER
- Green: BAD
- Blue: CRESTED
- Purple: TOPICAL
Full Connections answers
Spoilers: the complete word bank is HEAVY, CRESTED, BAD, FEATHER, FLY, TEASE, BANTAM, TOPICAL, CURL, SOUR, WICKED, LEGHORN, SHAVING, CRIMP and FREE-RANGE.
#1 Best Overall
| Color | Category | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | Retro hair directives | CRIMP, CURL, FEATHER, TEASE |
| Green | Retro slang for cool | BAD, FLY, RAD, WICKED |
| Blue | Chicken descriptors | BANTAM, CRESTED, FREE-RANGE, LEGHORN |
| Purple | _____ cream | HEAVY, SHAVING, SOUR, TOPICAL |
Why the groupings fit—and the tempting trap
Yellow: salon instructions
CRIMP, CURL, FEATHER and TEASE are all hair-styling directives. The clue points to familiar salon language rather than a single hairstyle.
Green: slang that meant cool
BAD, FLY, RAD and WICKED can all describe something impressive or cool in retro slang. RAD and WICKED are especially useful signals for the group.
Blue: chicken descriptors
BANTAM, CRESTED, FREE-RANGE and LEGHORN all describe chickens or chicken types. BANTAM may initially suggest a different pattern, but its match here is with the chicken-related terms.
Purple: words before “cream”
HEAVY cream, shaving cream, sour cream and topical cream complete the four phrases. This phrase-completion connection accounts for the remaining words once the other groups are placed.
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The “-weights” red herring
BANTAM can evoke a boxing weight class, while HEAVY, FEATHER and FLY can also appear as weight divisions. That apparent set is a distraction: the puzzle uses BANTAM with CRESTED, FREE-RANGE and LEGHORN instead.
Quick Recap
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