If you are looking for the Connections answer for Thursday, February 12, 2026, read on – I will share some clues, tips and strategies, and finally the solutions to all four categories. Along the way, I’ll explain the meaning of the more complicated words and we’ll learn how it all fits together. Warning, spoilers ahead for February 12, NYT Connections #977! Read on if you want some clues (and then the answer) for today’s Connections game.
If you want an easy way to get back to our Connections tips every day, bookmark this page. (If you play word, Threadseither quorddleSee also our suggestions for those games.)
Below I’ll give you some indirect clues about today’s Connections answers. And further down the page, I will reveal the themes and the answers. Scroll slowly and follow only the suggestions you need!
Credit: Connections/NYT
The types of categories in today’s Connections puzzle
Here are spoiler-free tips describing the type of each category in today’s Connections:
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Yellow category: similar words.
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Green category: similar words.
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Blue category: related nouns/pop culture.
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Purple Category: Fill in the blank.
Tips for Today’s Connections Puzzle Topics
Here are some spoiler-free tips for grouping in today’s Connections:
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Yellow category: what an inventor or builder does.
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Green category: not going anywhere.
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Blue category: throw and catch.
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Purple category: they go with a word of royalty.
WARNING: Spoilers for today’s Connections puzzle follow!
We’re about to reveal some of the answers. Move slowly if you don’t want everything to be ruined. (The full solution is a little further down).
A warning about the difficult parts
PRODUCED, FROZEN, and DAIRY may make you think of sections in a grocery store, but they don’t go together these days.
PRODUCE is a verb.
YANK is short for “Yankees.”
DANCE goes with a word to form the name of an Abba song.
What are the categories in Today’s Connections?
DOUBLE CARE: THE SOLUTION IS BELOW
Ready to learn the answers to today’s Connections puzzle? I give them all away below.
What are the yellow words in today’s Connections?
The yellow group is considered the simplest. The topic for today’s yellow group is BUILD and the words are: FORM, MAKE, MOLD, PRODUCE.
What are the green words in today’s Connections?
The green group should be the second easiest. Today’s green category theme is FIXED IN PLACE and the words are: FAST, FIRM, FROZEN, TIGHT.
What are the blue words in today’s Connections?
The blue group is the second most difficult. The topic for today’s blue category is MLB PLAYER, FOR SHORT and the words are: A, CARD, JAY, YANK.
What are the purple words in today’s Connections?
The purple group is considered the most difficult. The topic for today’s purple category is ___ QUEEN and the words are: DAIRY, DANCING, DRAG, MAY.
How I solved today’s Connections
YANK could be the beginning of the “Yankees,” like the baseball team. That would work with JAY. Oh, maybe not, the team is the Blue JAY. YANK could also go with DRAG as a verb.
DRAG, DANCE and DAIRY could go with “queen”. I don’t see a room.
Perhaps MAKE, PRODUCE, MOLD and FORM go together as synonymous verbs. 🟨
FAST, FIRM, and TIGHT could go together as words that describe something solid or unbreakable. Maybe FROZEN works too? 🟩
What do you think so far?
It seems that DRAG, DANCING and DAIRY go together after all. However, I don’t understand how YANK, JAY, MAY, A or CARD go with “queen”, so I need to figure out the other category.
JAY, MAY and A rhyme, but there are no other words like that.
Oh, I got it, JAY, YANK, A, and CARD are shorthand nicknames for baseball teams: Blue JAY, YANKees, A’s (or Athletics, technically), and CARDinals. 🟦
That means MAY is the other queen word with DRAG, DANCE and DAIRY. 🟪 Apparently a MAY Queen is someone who personifies May Day celebrations? OK!
Connections Puzzle #977 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟪🟪🟪🟪
How to play Connections
I have a complete guide to playing Connectionsbut here is a review of the rules:
First, find the game Connections on the New York Times website or in its Games app (formerly the Crossword app). You will see a game board with 16 tiles, each with a word or phrase. Your job is to select a group of four tiles that have something in common. Often they are all the same types of things (for example: RAIN, SNOW, HAIL, and SNOW are all types of wet weather) but sometimes there are puns involved (for example, BUCKET, GUEST, TOP TEN, and WISH are all types of Liza: wish list, guest list, etc.).
Select four items and press the Submit button. If you guessed correctly, the category and color will be revealed. (Yellow is the easiest, followed by green, then blue, then purple.) If your guess was incorrect, you will have the opportunity to try again.
You will win when you have correctly identified the four groups. But if you make four mistakes before finishing, the game ends and the answers are revealed.
How to gain connections
The most important thing you need to know to win Connections is that groupings are designed to be complicated. Expect to see overlapping groups. For example, one puzzle appeared to include six breakfast foods: BACON, EGG, PANCAKE, OMELET, WAFFLE, and CEREAL. But BACON turned out to be part of a group of painters along with CLOSE, MUNCH and WHISTLER, and EGG was in a group of things that come in dozens (along with JUROR, ROSE and MONTH). So don’t hit “send” until you’ve confirmed that your party of four contains only those four things.
If you’re stuck, another strategy is to look at the words that seem to have No connection with others. If the only thing that comes to mind when you see WHISTLER is the painting nicknamed “Whistler’s Mother,” you might be right. When I figured it out, I ended up Googling if there was a painter named Close, because Close didn’t fit any of the obvious themes either.
Another way to win when you’re stuck is obviously to read some helpful tips, which is why we share these tips every day. Come back tomorrow for the next puzzle!
Isn’t this the day you’re looking for? Here is the solution to today’s Connections.