# Today's NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for June 12, #1097 > Source: > Published: 2026-06-12 09:01:05+00:00 Looking for the **most recent** Connections answers? [Click here for today's Connections hints](https://www.cnet.com/feature/daily-puzzle-answers/), as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles. Today's NYT [Connections puzzle](https://www.nytimes.com/games/connections) has a trend that carries through all four categories. All of them start with the phrase "starting with" -- and wow, that's kind of meta. Read on for clues and today's Connections answers. [The Times has a Connections Bot](https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/connections-bot-brings-ai-to-the-new-york-times-games-section/), like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section [can now nerd out by following their progress](https://www.nytco.com/press/introducing-connections-stats-and-streaks/), including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak. **Read more:** [Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time](https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/nyt-connections-seven-hints-tricks-and-tips-for-winning-every-game/) ## Hints for today's Connections groups Here are four hints for the groupings in today's Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group. **Yellow group hint**: Magic phrases. **Green group hint**: A colony of ants is one. **Blue group hint**: Say it again. **Purple group hint**: The Mississippi or the Amazon. ## Answers for today's Connections groups **Yellow group**: Starting with incantations. **Green group**: Starting with animal group names. **Blue group**: Starting with synonyms for "repeat." **Purple group**: Starting with parts of a river. **Read more:** [Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words](https://www.cnet.com/tech/wordle-player-cheat-sheet-here-are-the-most-popular-letters-used-in-the-english-language/) ## What are today's Connections answers? ### The yellow words in today's Connections The theme is starting with incantations. The four answers are charm bracelet, curse word, hex key and spell checker. ### The green words in today's Connections The theme is starting with animal group names. The four answers are murder mystery, pack rat, Pride Rock and school days. ### The blue words in today's Connections The theme is starting with synonyms for "repeat." The four answers are copy editor, Echo Park, mirror selfie and quote unquote. ### The purple words in today's Connections The theme is starting with parts of a river. The four answers are bank teller, bed head, Delta Airlines and mouth guard. **Toughest Connections puzzles** We've made a note of some of the [toughest Connections puzzles](https://www.cnet.com/tech/gaming/nyt-connections-turns-one-these-are-the-5-toughest-puzzles-so-far/#link=%7B%22role%22:%22standard%22,%22href%22:%22https://www.cnet.com/tech/gaming/nyt-connections-turns-one-these-are-the-5-toughest-puzzles-so-far/) so far. Maybe they'll help you see patterns in future puzzles. #5: Included "things you can set," such as mood, record, table and volleyball. #4: Included "one in a dozen," such as egg, juror, month and rose. #3: Included "streets on screen," such as Elm, Fear, Jump and Sesame. #2: Included "power ___" such as nap, plant, Ranger and trip. #1: Included "things that can run," such as candidate, faucet, mascara and nose.