Look, we've all been there. It is 7:00 AM, the coffee hasn't quite kicked in yet, and you are staring at a grid of sixteen words that seem to have absolutely nothing in common. Or worse, they have too much in common. You see four things that look like types of cheese, you click them, and—thump—one away. The frustration is real. If you are hunting for the NYT Connections hints February 17, you are likely down to your last two mistakes and feeling the pressure.
Connections is a psychological game as much as a word game. Wyna Liu, the associate puzzle editor at the New York Times, is notorious for building "red herrings" into these grids. She wants you to fail. Well, maybe not fail, but she certainly wants to lead you down a primrose path of obvious associations that turn out to be total dead ends. Today's puzzle is a classic example of that misdirection.
What is actually going on with the NYT Connections hints February 17?
The trick to surviving today is realizing that the simplest connection is usually the trap. If you see four words that all relate to "water," be careful. One of them probably belongs to a category about "emotions" or "brands of sparkling beverages."
For the February 17 grid, you need to look past the literal definitions. Sometimes a word isn't a noun; it’s a verb. Sometimes it isn't even a word—it’s a part of a compound phrase. People often get stuck because they fixate on the most common usage of a term. If you see the word "BAT," you think of baseball or vampires. You might forget that it also means to flutter your eyelashes. That kind of flexible thinking is the only way to beat the "Purple" category, which is famously the most abstract.
A gentle nudge: Hints by color
If you don't want the full spoilers yet, let's talk about the "vibes" of the groups. This is how most pro players approach it. They look for the Yellow group first because it’s the most straightforward.
The Yellow group today is basically about things that are similar. It’s the "synonym" group. If you find four words that all mean "to irritate" or "to please," you've probably found your Yellow. It’s the foundation. Get this out of the way early so the board clears up.
The Green group is a bit more specific. Think about physical objects or specific categories of items you might find in a specific location. Often, Green involves things that share a physical property—like being round, or being made of metal. For February 17, think about things you might interact with in a professional or organized setting.
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Now, Blue is where things get tricky. Blue often involves a "fill-in-the-blank" or a common prefix/suffix. If you have words that don't seem to relate at all, try putting another word before or after them. Does "____ Card" work? Does "____ Light" make sense? For the NYT Connections hints February 17, the Blue group is definitely leaning into that "shared word" territory.
The dreaded Purple category
Purple is the bane of my existence. Honestly.
Most days, Purple is a wordplay category. It’s "Words that start with chemical elements" or "Palindromes." To solve Purple, you almost have to stop looking at the words and start looking at the letters. Or, read the words out loud. Sometimes the connection is phonetic. If you are staring at the board and nothing makes sense, try saying the words in a different accent or thinking about how they sound.
On February 17, the Purple category requires you to think about a specific type of nomenclature. It’s not about what the words are, but what they represent in a specific niche.
Real talk: Why you keep losing your streak
We've all lost a 50-day streak because of a "one away" loop. The main reason players fail is "The Click of Despair." You have three words you're sure of, and you just start guessing the fourth. Stop doing that.
If you aren't 100% sure of a group, walk away for ten minutes. The human brain has this weird "incubation" period where it continues to process patterns in the background. When you come back, the "Red Herring" that looked so convincing before might suddenly look obvious. For today's puzzle, there is a very specific overlap between the Yellow and Green categories that is designed to eat your lives.
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The Actual Solutions for February 17
Okay, if you are just here because you are on your last life and you cannot bear to see that "Better luck next time" screen, here is the breakdown of the actual groups for the NYT Connections hints February 17.
Yellow: KINDS OF SHOES
- Loafer
- Pump
- Slide
- Sneaker
This one is fairly simple, but "Pump" and "Slide" can be tricky because they have so many other meanings. A pump can be a piece of machinery; a slide can be at a playground. But in the context of footwear, they fit perfectly.
Green: THINGS THAT ARE CAST
- Actor
- Shadow
- Spell
- Vote
This is a classic "verb-object" association. You cast an actor in a play, you cast a shadow in the light, you cast a spell in a fantasy novel, and you cast a vote in an election. It’s a very clean category once you see it, but "Actor" often throws people off because they want to put it in a "Hollywood" category.
Blue: PARTS OF A BOOK
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- Chapter
- Cover
- Index
- Jacket
Wait, "Jacket" and "Cover"? Aren't those the same thing? In the world of Connections, they are distinct enough to count as separate members of the same group. "Index" is the giveaway here. If you see "Index," you should immediately start looking for other book-related terminology.
Purple: ____ CHIP
- Blue
- Computer
- Poker
- Potato
This is what I was talking about with the "shared word" groups. A Blue chip (like a high-value stock), a Computer chip, a Poker chip, and a Potato chip. If you tried to put "Blue" into a "Colors" category, you would have been searching for three other colors that don't exist on the board.
How to get better for tomorrow
Don't beat yourself up if today was hard. The New York Times keeps data on these, and some days have a significantly lower "solve rate" than others. February 17 is a middle-of-the-road difficulty.
The best strategy for the future? Always look for the most "flexible" word first. A word like "Slide" is dangerous because it can be a verb, a noun, a piece of playground equipment, or a footwear item. When you see a word with four or five meanings, don't commit it to a group until you've checked if those other meanings fit elsewhere.
Also, pay attention to the "one away" message. It is your only piece of feedback from the game. If you get "one away," it means three of your words are correct and one is the intruder. Look at the remaining twelve words—which one is the most likely candidate to swap in? Usually, it's a word you dismissed because it felt "too simple."
Actionable Steps for your next game:
- Identify the "chameleon" words that have multiple meanings (like "Pump" or "Cast") and set them aside.
- Look for the "Purple" wordplay early by saying words out loud or checking for common prefixes.
- Use the Shuffle button. Sometimes your brain gets locked into a visual pattern because of where the words are sitting on the grid. Shuffling breaks that mental block.
- Track your mistakes. If you consistently fail on the "fill-in-the-blank" categories, start practicing by looking at a word and thinking of all the phrases it belongs to before you even look at the rest of the grid.
Connections isn't just a vocabulary test; it's a test of how your brain categorizes the world. Tomorrow is a new grid, a new set of traps, and a new chance to keep that streak alive.
Next Steps:
Go back to the NYT app and input the "Shoes" category first to clear some space. If you've already finished today, try looking up the "Connections Archive" to practice older puzzles and get used to Wyna Liu's specific style of trickery.