Connections Hints

Tuesday, May 19, 2026

Words from the NYT Connections puzzle — May 19, 2026

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Show the word gridAll 16 words — you figure out the groups
Show the themesCategory names only, no words revealed
One word per groupTheme name + one word per category
Full solutionAll words and explanations
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Word grid

All 16 words, sorted alphabetically. Group them into four categories of four.

ALTER
BABBLE
BLUBBER
COOK
CRY
DEENIE
DOCTOR
FOREVER
FOUNDER
FUDGE
NURSE
SALON
SUPERFUDGE
SURGEON
TEETHE
TROT
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Themes

The four category names, easiest to hardest. No words revealed yet.

THINGS BABIES DOStraightforward
MODIFY DECEPTIVELYModerate
JUDY BLUME BOOKSTricky
FISH MINUS A LETTERDevious
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One word per group

Theme name plus one word from each category.

THINGS BABIES DOStraightforward
WHAT A NEWBORN MIGHT DO IN THEIR FIRST MONTHS OF LIFE+ 3 more…
MODIFY DECEPTIVELYModerate
THESE WORDS ALL MEAN TO TAMPER WITH OR FALSIFY SOMETHING+ 3 more…
JUDY BLUME BOOKSTricky
TITLES FROM A BELOVED AUTHOR OF COMING-OF-AGE STORIES+ 3 more…
FISH MINUS A LETTERDevious
EACH WORD BECOMES A FISH WHEN YOU ADD BACK A MISSING LETTER+ 3 more…
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Full solution
THINGS BABIES DOStraightforward
BABBLE,CRY,NURSE,TEETHE

BABBLE, CRY, NURSE, and TEETHE are all things infants typically do in their early development.

MODIFY DECEPTIVELYModerate
ALTER,COOK,DOCTOR,FUDGE

ALTER, COOK, DOCTOR, and FUDGE all mean to manipulate or falsify something deceptively, as in cooking the books or doctoring evidence.

JUDY BLUME BOOKSTricky
BLUBBER,DEENIE,FOREVER,SUPERFUDGE

BLUBBER, DEENIE, FOREVER, and SUPERFUDGE are all novels written by Judy Blume, the iconic author of young adult and children's fiction.

FISH MINUS A LETTERDevious
FOUNDER,SALON,SURGEON,TROT

Each word is a fish with one letter removed: FLOUNDER→FOUNDER, SALMON→SALON, STURGEON→SURGEON, TROUT→TROT.

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