Looking for today's NYT Connections hints and answers? You've come to the right place. The New York Times Connections puzzle #1065 for Sunday, May 11, 2026 is live, and we've got everything you need — from spoiler-free progressive hints to the complete solution for all four categories.
Today's puzzle is rated Medium-to-Hard difficulty. The Purple category is especially tricky, involving hidden body parts inside words. Read on for hints before you peek at the full answers!
What Is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections is a daily word puzzle from The New York Times, created by puzzle editor Wyna Liu. Each day, you're given 16 words and must sort them into 4 groups of 4. Each group shares a hidden theme. You get only 4 mistakes before the game ends.
The categories are color-coded by difficulty:
- 🟨 Yellow — Easiest
- 🟩 Green — Moderate
- 🟦 Blue — Tricky
- 🟪 Purple — Hardest (often involves wordplay)
Today's 16 Words (May 11, 2026)
Here are all 16 words on today's Connections board:
CHINATOWN, COLOR, CREEP, ELEGY, KARMA, KEYED, KNIVES OUT, PONZI, PYRAMID, RHYME, SEVEN, SHANDY, SLIP, SNEAK, STEAL, VERTIGO
NYT Connections Hints Today — May 11, 2026
Try these progressive hints before scrolling to the full answers. We start vague and get more specific!
🟨 Yellow Category Hint (Easiest)
Theme hint: Think of verbs that describe sneaking or moving through an area without being detected. These words can all follow "in" to describe stealthy movement.
One word reveal: SNEAK is in this group.
🟩 Green Category Hint (Moderate)
Theme hint: These terms are all associated with various forms of trickery or deceptive systems. What kind of "scheme" could each of these words precede or describe?
One word reveal: PONZI is in this group.
🟦 Blue Category Hint (Tricky)
Theme hint: These are all titles of iconic movies known for their mystery or detective elements. Think classic and modern cinema.
One word reveal: VERTIGO is in this group.
🟪 Purple Category Hint (Hardest)
Theme hint: Look very closely at the spelling of each word. A body part is hidden in the middle of each word, surrounded by other letters. This is a classic Connections wordplay trick!
One word reveal: KARMA is in this group (hint: look inside the word).
NYT Connections Answers Today — May 11, 2026 (Puzzle #1065)
⚠️ Spoiler alert! Full answers for today's NYT Connections puzzle are below.
🟨 Yellow — Move Stealthily, With "In"
CREEP, SLIP, SNEAK, STEAL
All four words can follow "in" to describe moving quietly or secretly — sneak in, slip in, creep in, steal in.
🟩 Green — Kinds of Schemes
COLOR, PONZI, PYRAMID, RHYME
Each word can precede "scheme" — color scheme, Ponzi scheme, pyramid scheme, rhyme scheme.
🟦 Blue — Detective Movies
CHINATOWN, KNIVES OUT, SEVEN, VERTIGO
These are all famous mystery/detective films: Chinatown (1974), Vertigo (1958), Seven (1995), and Knives Out (2019).
🟪 Purple — Body Parts Surrounded by Two Letters
ELEGY, KARMA, KEYED, SHANDY
Each word contains a body part hidden in the middle, surrounded by exactly two other letters:
- E-LEG-Y → LEG
- K-ARM-A → ARM
- K-EYE-D → EYE
- SH-AND-Y → HAND
Strategy Tips for Today's Puzzle
- Start with Yellow: The "move stealthily" group is the most intuitive — if you think about sneaking around, these four verbs should come to mind quickly.
- Watch for the Scheme trap: Words like PYRAMID and COLOR might initially seem like they belong elsewhere. Remember to think about compound phrases.
- Movie knowledge helps: If you're a film buff, the Blue category should click fast. All four are well-known mystery/detective films.
- Purple requires letter analysis: This is the hardest category. You literally need to look inside each word's spelling to find hidden body parts. Don't just think about word meanings!
How Hard Was Today's NYT Connections?
We'd rate today's puzzle a 3.5 out of 5 in difficulty. The Yellow and Green categories are approachable for most players, but Purple's hidden-word-within-a-word trick will stump many. The Blue category depends heavily on your movie knowledge — film enthusiasts will find it easy, while others might struggle.
Pro tip: When you see unusual or uncommon words (like ELEGY, SHANDY, KEYED), that's often a signal they're in the Purple category, chosen specifically because they contain hidden patterns rather than for their meaning.
What Time Does NYT Connections Reset?
A new NYT Connections puzzle is released every day at midnight Eastern Time (ET). We update our hints and answers as soon as the new puzzle goes live. Bookmark this page and check back tomorrow for puzzle #1066!
Play More Connections Puzzles
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are today's NYT Connections answers for May 11, 2026?
Today's NYT Connections #1065 answers are: 🟨 Move Stealthily (CREEP, SLIP, SNEAK, STEAL), 🟩 Kinds of Schemes (COLOR, PONZI, PYRAMID, RHYME), 🟦 Detective Movies (CHINATOWN, KNIVES OUT, SEVEN, VERTIGO), 🟪 Body Parts Hidden in Words (ELEGY, KARMA, KEYED, SHANDY).
Is today's NYT Connections hard?
Today's puzzle is medium-to-hard difficulty (3.5/5). Yellow and Green are straightforward, Blue requires movie knowledge, and Purple involves a tricky hidden-word pattern that many players will find challenging.
What does the Purple category mean in NYT Connections?
The Purple category is always the hardest. Today, it involves body parts (LEG, ARM, EYE, HAND) hidden inside other words (ELEGY, KARMA, KEYED, SHANDY). This type of wordplay category is a Connections signature.
Where can I play yesterday's NYT Connections?
Visit our NYT Connections Hints page to see past solutions, or check the NYT Games archive for previous puzzles.
