NYT Connections Hints, Answers & Clues -
NYT Connections #1158 Tip
Every word here moonlights as something completely different.
What Makes NYT Connections #1158 Tricky?
LEMON, BULL, GREEN, and NURSE land on this grid looking like they share obvious everyday meanings — a fruit, an animal, a colour, a profession — but that surface reading is exactly what the editor wants you to chase.
The main trick is that the puzzle uses familiar words in their least obvious senses, and one entire category is hiding inside longer compound phrases where the real pattern is buried at the start of each phrase.
This one skews hard — one group is approachable if a specific TV world clicks for you, but the other three all require you to set aside the first meaning your brain reaches for.
Connections Hints for Every Word in the August 12, 2026 Puzzle
LEMON
Connections hint for LEMON
Not the fruit — this is the surname of Liz Lemon, the lead character in the NBC sitcom 30 Rock.
TREE
Connections hint for TREE
A type of frog — tree frogs cling to branches and leaves using sticky toe pads.
HARBOR
Connections hint for HARBOR
You know it as a sheltered port for ships, but here it is a verb meaning to hold a feeling quietly inside yourself.
FINE PRINT
Connections hint for FINE PRINT
The small-text legal disclaimers at the bottom of a contract — but look at the first word hiding at the start of this phrase.
GREAT WHITE
Connections hint for GREAT WHITE
The apex predator shark — but the connection here is not the shark itself, it is the word that opens this phrase.
GREEN
Connections hint for GREEN
A colour, yes — and also a type of frog. Green frog is a specific species, not just any frog that happens to be green.
GOODBYE
Connections hint for GOODBYE
A farewell — but look past the whole word and notice what affirmative response is tucked at the very start of it.
NURSE
Connections hint for NURSE
Not the healthcare professional here — to nurse a feeling means to hold onto it quietly over time, the way you nurse a grudge.
BULL
Connections hint for BULL
The male bovine — and also a bullfrog, one of the largest frog species, known for its deep booming call.
BING
Connections hint for BING
Not the search engine — this is the surname of Chandler Bing from the NBC sitcom Friends.
FOSTER
Connections hint for FOSTER
Not the foster care system or a foster parent — to foster a feeling means to encourage and hold onto it over time.
SCOTT
Connections hint for SCOTT
The surname of Michael Scott, the regional manager from the NBC sitcom The Office.
BENES
Connections hint for BENES
The surname of Elaine Benes from the NBC sitcom Seinfeld — less immediately recognisable than the others, which makes it a useful anchor once you spot it.
OKAYAMA
Connections hint for OKAYAMA
A city and prefecture in Japan — and the first four letters spell out a very common affirmative response.
POISON DART
Connections hint for POISON DART
A type of frog — poison dart frogs are tiny, brilliantly coloured, and carry toxins on their skin.
MAINTAIN
Connections hint for MAINTAIN
To maintain a feeling means to keep holding it over time — the most neutral and literal of the four words in this group.
Traps & Misdirects Hints for NYT Connections Puzzle (#1158)
LEMON is a yellow citrus fruit, GREEN is a colour, and BULL is a large bovine — and all three are also types of frog, which makes it tempting to cluster them together as animals or nature words. That cluster is a dead end. Each of these three belongs to a completely different group in this puzzle, and only one of them is actually being used as a frog.
NURSE makes you think of a hospital, FOSTER makes you think of foster care or a foster parent, and HARBOR makes you think of a port where ships dock — three very different concrete nouns and professions. None of those readings are what is happening here. All three share a quieter verb meaning that has nothing to do with healthcare, parenting, or boats.
BING is Microsoft's search engine and LEMON is a sour yellow fruit — neither reading is what this puzzle is using. Both are NBC sitcom surnames, and if you do not know the specific shows, these two words will look like they belong almost anywhere else on the grid.
GREAT WHITE makes you think of a shark, GOODBYE is just a farewell, and FINE PRINT is a legal or contract term — three phrases that seem to have nothing in common. The connection is not what any of these phrases mean as a whole, but what is hiding at the very beginning of each one.
Connections Hints for August 12, 2026
Yellow Connections Hints
Yellow Category Hint
Verbs for quietly keeping a feeling alive inside you
Think: Think: nurse a grudge, harbor resentment
Yellow Category Name
HOLD ONTO, AS A FEELING
Yellow Category Words
Reveal word 1
FOSTERReveal word 2
HARBORReveal word 3
MAINTAINReveal word 4
NURSEGreen Connections Hints
Green Category Hint
Four varieties of a specific amphibian species
Think: Think: pond, lily pad, ribbit
Green Category Name
KINDS OF FROGS
Green Category Words
Reveal word 1
BULLReveal word 2
GREENReveal word 3
POISON DARTReveal word 4
TREEBlue Connections Hints
Blue Category Hint
Last names of characters from four beloved NBC comedies
Think: Think: Peacock network, must-see TV
Blue Category Name
NBC SITCOM SURNAMES
Blue Category Words
Reveal word 1
BENESReveal word 2
BINGReveal word 3
LEMONReveal word 4
SCOTTPurple Connections Hints
Purple Category Hint
Phrases or words that open with a yes-type response
Think: Think: hidden yes at the start
Purple Category Name
STARTING WITH AFFIRMATIVE RESPONSES
Purple Category Words
Reveal word 1
FINE PRINTReveal word 2
GOODBYEReveal word 3
GREAT WHITEReveal word 4
OKAYAMANYT Connections Answers for August 12, 2026
NYT Connections Answers Explained: August 12, 2026
HOLD ONTO, AS A FEELING
FOSTER, HARBOR, MAINTAIN, and NURSE all share a verb meaning — to quietly hold onto or keep a feeling alive over time — a sense that hides behind each word's more familiar meaning.
- FOSTER
- To foster a feeling means to encourage it and let it grow — you foster hope, foster resentment, foster ambition — the parenting and care-system meanings are the decoy.
- HARBOR
- To harbor a feeling means to hold it secretly inside yourself — you harbor a grudge, harbor suspicions, harbor doubts — the port and ships meaning is the surface trap.
- MAINTAIN
- To maintain a feeling means to keep it going steadily over time — the most straightforward of the four, meaning to sustain or preserve something.
- NURSE
- To nurse a feeling means to hold onto it carefully and let it simmer — you nurse a grudge, nurse a hope — the healthcare professional meaning is the obvious decoy.
KINDS OF FROGS
BULL, GREEN, POISON DART, and TREE are all types of frog — specific species or species groups — and three of them are single words that look like they belong to completely different categories.
- BULL
- The bullfrog is one of the largest frog species in North America, named for its deep resonant call that sounds like a bull — BULL is the first word of bullfrog.
- GREEN
- The green frog is a specific North American species, not just any frog that happens to be green — it is a recognised species in its own right.
- POISON DART
- Poison dart frogs are small, brilliantly coloured tropical frogs whose skin secretes powerful toxins — indigenous peoples historically used those toxins to tip blowgun darts.
- TREE
- Tree frogs are a large family of frogs adapted to life in trees and vegetation, with sticky toe pads that let them cling to leaves and branches.
NBC SITCOM SURNAMES
BENES, BING, LEMON, and SCOTT are the surnames of iconic characters from four major NBC sitcoms — Seinfeld, Friends, 30 Rock, and The Office respectively.
- BENES
- Elaine Benes is one of the four main characters in Seinfeld, the NBC sitcom that ran from 1989 to 1998 — her surname is the least immediately famous of the four, making it the hardest to spot.
- BING
- Chandler Bing is one of the six main characters in Friends, the NBC sitcom that ran from 1994 to 2004 — the Microsoft search engine association is the obvious trap.
- LEMON
- Liz Lemon is the lead character in 30 Rock, the NBC sitcom created by and starring Tina Fey that ran from 2006 to 2013 — the citrus fruit association is the trap.
- SCOTT
- Michael Scott is the regional manager and central character of The Office, the NBC sitcom that ran from 2005 to 2013, played by Steve Carell.
STARTING WITH AFFIRMATIVE RESPONSES
FINE PRINT, GOODBYE, GREAT WHITE, and OKAYAMA each begin with a common affirmative response — FINE, GOOD, GREAT, and OKAY — hidden at the start of a longer word or phrase.
- FINE PRINT
- FINE PRINT starts with FINE — a word used to mean yes, agreed, or acceptable — the small-text legal disclaimer meaning of the full phrase is the surface distraction.
- GOODBYE
- GOODBYE starts with GOOD — an affirmative response meaning satisfactory or yes — hidden inside a farewell word most people never think to break apart.
- GREAT WHITE
- GREAT WHITE starts with GREAT — an enthusiastic affirmative response — the apex predator shark association is the obvious surface trap.
- OKAYAMA
- OKAYAMA is a city and prefecture in western Japan whose name begins with OKAY — one of the most common affirmative responses in English — making it the most surprising entry in this group.
