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Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for May 22, No. 1,076.
Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.
Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is a real challenge. That purple category will really test your brain. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.
The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.
Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time
Hints for today’s Connections groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Getting back to you.
Green group hint: Don’t step out of line.
Blue group hint: Movin’ right along.
Purple group hint: Sounds like…
Answers for today’s Connections groups
Yellow group: Reach back out.
Green group: The way things are done.
Blue group: Places with conveyor belts.
Purple group: Starting with name homophones.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections answers?
The completed NYT Connections puzzle for May 22, 2026.
NYT/Screenshot by CNETThe yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is reach back out. The four answers are check in, follow up, reconnect and touch base.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is the way things are done. The four answers are convention, custom, social norm and unwritten rule.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is places with conveyor belts. The four answers are assembly line, baggage claim, checkout lane and revolving sushi bar.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is starting with name homophones. The four answers are carry-on (Carrie), El Niño (Elle), loosey-goosey (Lucy) and tailor-made (Taylor).
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of “Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the ’70s and ’80s,” as well as “The Totally Sweet ’90s.” She’s been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She’s Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she’ll be first in line. See full bio