Connections Hints

Sunday, August 16, 2026

Words from the NYT Connections puzzle — August 16, 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.

ACTOR
AGENT
CONCERT
FROM NEANDER
GIG
GRAND
GREAT
HALF
HANDY
PARTY
PLAYER
SET
SHOW
STEP
UPRIGHT
WISE
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Themes

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

MUSICAL PERFORMANCEStraightforward
PARTICIPANTModerate
FAMILY RELATIONSHIP MODIFIERSTricky
DESCRIPTORS FOR OUR HUMAN ANCESTORSDevious
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One word per group

Theme name plus one word from each category.

MUSICAL PERFORMANCEStraightforward
WHAT YOU MIGHT CALL A BAND'S LIVE APPEARANCE ON STAGE+ 3 more…
PARTICIPANTModerate
SOMEONE WHO TAKES PART IN SOMETHING+ 3 more…
FAMILY RELATIONSHIP MODIFIERSTricky
WORDS THAT CAN PRECEDE 'PARENT' OR 'CHILD' TO DESCRIBE FAMILY TIES+ 3 more…
DESCRIPTORS FOR OUR HUMAN ANCESTORSDevious
THESE WORDS COMPLETE THE LATIN SPECIES NAMES OF EARLY HUMANS WHEN PAIRED WITH 'HOMO'+ 3 more…
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Full solution
MUSICAL PERFORMANCEStraightforward
CONCERT,GIG,SET,SHOW

CONCERT, GIG, SET, and SHOW are all words used to describe a live musical performance.

PARTICIPANTModerate
ACTOR,AGENT,PARTY,PLAYER

ACTOR, AGENT, PARTY, and PLAYER all mean a participant or involved entity in a process, event, or transaction.

FAMILY RELATIONSHIP MODIFIERSTricky
GRAND,GREAT,HALF,STEP

GRAND, GREAT, HALF, and STEP are all prefixes that modify family relationship words (e.g., grandparent, great-aunt, half-brother, stepmother).

DESCRIPTORS FOR OUR HUMAN ANCESTORSDevious
FROM NEANDER,HANDY,UPRIGHT,WISE

FROM NEANDER (Homo neanderthalensis), HANDY (Homo habilis), UPRIGHT (Homo erectus), and WISE (Homo sapiens) are all descriptors used in the scientific names of early human species.

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