Issue #1066 Tue 12 May
NYT Connections Hints & Answer — May 12, 2026
The words are varied, but common threads link them. Seek out the connections, and you'll find a satisfying resolution, even when things seem to have been stretched.
Word meanings & definitions
Stuck on a tricky Connections word? Click any tile below to see its dictionary entry — handy when a familiar word might be hiding a less-obvious meaning.
OPUS
- n. numbered musical composition
- n. weighty creative achievement
TOME
- n. large scholarly book
- n. one part of a multi-part treatise
VOLUME
- n. amount of three-dimensional space occupied
- n. loudness of sound
- n. hefty bound publication
- n. quantity or bulk of something
WORK
- v. perform labor for pay
- n. effort applied to a task
- n. artistic or literary creation
- n. force times displacement in physics
MONICA
- n. feminine given name of Latin origin
PAULO
- n. masculine given name, Portuguese form of Paul
PETERSBURG
- n. city in Virginia site of a Civil War siege
- n. common placename in several U.S. states
SALVADOR
- n. masculine Spanish given name
- n. coastal Brazilian metropolis in Bahia
DISTANCE
- n. amount of space between two points
- n. emotional remoteness between people
- v. to set apart or dissociate oneself
DIVISION
- n. arithmetic operation splitting a quantity
- n. organizational unit within a company
- n. military formation of several brigades
- n. competitive tier in a sports league
JOHNS
- n. plural of slang term for a toilet
- n. clients of a sex worker
- n. plural surname or given name
WEEKEND
- n. Saturday and Sunday combined
- v. to spend a Saturday-Sunday somewhere
FRANCI
(not a standalone English word)
RANDO
- n. informal term for an unfamiliar person
REALM
- n. kingdom ruled by a monarch
- n. domain or sphere of activity
WONK
- n. (informal) someone obsessively studious about detail
- n. a policy specialist
yellow group 7 hints
Yellow group hints
A dusty shelf groaning under the weight of bound knowledge; you reach for one and it falls open at chapter seven.
These all refer to written or created content.
They are all nouns that can represent a large, significant piece of writing or creation.
Think of terms used to describe a major literary or artistic achievement.
SUBSTANTIAL BOOK
One is OPUS.
OPUS · TOME · VOLUME · WORK
green group 7 hints
Green group hints
Pin four dots on a world map and notice each one carries the name of someone the church canonised.
Geography and proper nouns.
These are all cities that share a name with a religious figure.
Each city is named after a specific saint.
"SAINT" CITIES
One is SAINT MONICA, the mother of St. Augustine.
MONICA · PAULO · PETERSBURG · SALVADOR
blue group 7 hints
Blue group hints
Four ordinary nouns waiting for the same single-syllable adjective to glue itself onto the front.
These are all abstract concepts or periods of time.
The connection is based on a shared adjective that describes their duration or extent.
They all become a common phrase if you add a specific adjective to the beginning.
LONG THINGS
One is DIVISION.
DISTANCE · DIVISION · JOHNS · WEEKEND
violet group 7 hints
Violet group hints
Each entry looks like a near-miss of an English word; trim a letter and you are holding pocket change from somewhere else.
This is a wordplay group involving finance and letters.
Each word is a type of currency, but one letter is incorrect.
If you fix that single misplaced letter, they all become real-world currencies.
CURRENCIES PLUS A LETTER
One example is WONK, which becomes WON (South Korean currency).
FRANCI (FRANC) · RANDO (RAND) · REALM (REAL) · WONK (WON)
Spoiler zone
Complete Connections answer
Open only the solution you want to see. Each answer stays hidden until you choose to reveal it.
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Reveal the yellow group
SUBSTANTIAL BOOKOPUS · TOME · VOLUME · WORK
-
Reveal the green group
"SAINT" CITIESMONICA · PAULO · PETERSBURG · SALVADOR
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Reveal the blue group
"LONG" THINGSDISTANCE · DIVISION · JOHNS · WEEKEND
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Reveal the violet group
CURRENCIES PLUS A LETTERFRANCI · RANDO · REALM · WONK
Verified solution for .
Frequently asked questions
Spoiler-free help for Connections on May 12, 2026. Every answer below helps you along without giving the game away — ready to see the full solution? See the complete Connections answer for May 12, 2026, or browse every Connections puzzle in the archive.
How hard is NYT Connections on May 12, 2026?
NYT Connections on May 12, 2026 rates 3 out of 4 on our difficulty scale — a tougher-than-average puzzle. As always you sort sixteen words into four colour-coded groups, and our hints tease what links each group without ever naming the words.
What's a spoiler-free hint for NYT Connections on May 12, 2026?
The hint ladder above starts with a one-line vibe for each of the four groups, then adds the connecting idea, then the wording of each category. You climb only as far as you need, and no grouped words are shown until the final reveal.
How many groups are in NYT Connections #1066?
Four groups of four, ordered from the gentlest to the trickiest. For the categories and the sixteen words themselves, open the answer section on this page — the hints here keep them hidden.
Today
- Difficulty
- Stiff
- At a glance
- 4 groups · 16 words
Today on Cluestand
Today
- Difficulty
- Stiff
- At a glance
- 4 groups · 16 words