NYT Connections Wednesday, February 18, 2026 - Complete Answers & Solutions

Welcome to today's NYT Connections puzzle solution! Below you'll find all the answers, hints, and explanations for the February 18, 2026 puzzle. Each group is color-coded by difficulty level, from yellow (easiest) to purple (hardest).

🎯 Complete Solutions by Difficulty

🟡 Yellow (Easiest): Retro hair directives

Words: CRIMP, CURL, FEATHER, TEASE
💡 Hint: Retro hair directives

This straightforward category connects words that retro hair directives.

🟢 Green (Easy): Retro slang for cool

Words: BAD, FLY, RAD, WICKED
💡 Hint: Retro slang for cool

This moderately easy category connects words that retro slang for cool.

🔵 Blue (Medium): Chicken descriptors

Words: BANTAM, CRESTED, FREE-RANGE, LEGHORN
💡 Hint: Chicken descriptors

This challenging category connects words that chicken descriptors.

🟣 Purple (Hardest): ___ Cream

Words: HEAVY, SHAVING, SOUR, TOPICAL
💡 Hint: ___ Cream

This most difficult category connects words that ___ cream.

🧩 How to Solve NYT Connections

NYT Connections is a daily word puzzle where you need to find groups of four words that share something in common. Here are some tips:

📝 All 16 Words

Today's puzzle featured these 16 words: CRIMP, CURL, FEATHER, TEASE, BAD, FLY, RAD, WICKED, BANTAM, CRESTED, FREE-RANGE, LEGHORN, HEAVY, SHAVING, SOUR, TOPICAL

🎮 About NYT Connections

NYT Connections is a daily word puzzle game by The New York Times. Players must identify four groups of four words that share a common theme. The categories range from straightforward (yellow) to tricky wordplay (purple). Each puzzle has exactly one solution, and you have four mistakes before the game ends.

New puzzles are released daily at midnight ET. Come back tomorrow for the next puzzle solution!