Clues and hints to help you solve puzzle #1077
Updated: May 23, 2026 11:44 am
Today’s communication puzzle relies heavily on pop culture, but hides that fact surprisingly early on. A few words seem to come together immediately, only for the grid to pull you in a completely different direction.
The blue and purple sections feel like they’re specifically made for movie fans, though the purple group relies more on remembering titles than seeing specific associations. Compared to yesterday’s puzzle, there’s also a jump between adjectives and proper nouns that can ruin a few guesses if you’re chasing the wrong connection early on.
This connection is initially scattered, but the board is much cleaner when the yellow section is clicked. Full hints and answers are below.
NYT Connections tips for May 23
Here are some clues to help narrow down today’s groups before revealing the full answers.
Yellow group: Big styles from the salon
🟩 Green team: Premature or voluntary selection
🟦 Blue team: Comic book heroes and mutants
The Purple Team: Words that appear after “The” in popular sci-fi movie titles
One response from each Connections group
If you want a little more push without seeing everything yet, here’s one word from each category.
Yellow team: POMPADOUR
🟩 Team in green: FAST
🟦 Blue team: WOLVERINE
Purple team: EMPIRE
Today’s sections of the NYT Connection
🨅 Yellow group: Hair
🟩 Green team: Very easy
🟦 Blue team: Amazing characters
The Purple Team: Words after “The” in “Star Wars” movie titles
Today’s NYT Connections Answers for May 23
If you’re ready for the full solution, here it is:
Hairstyles: BEEHIVE, BOUFFANT, CHIGNON, POMPADOUR
🟩 Immediate: FIRST, BEST, POSSIBLE, FAST
🟦 Amazing characters: DAREDEVIL, HAWKEYE, NIGHTCRAWLER, WOLVERINE
Words after “The” in “Star Wars” movie titles: EMPIRE, FORCE, LAST, PHANTOM
Separation of links
The yellow section was probably the cleanest entry point today, especially if you notice hair goals quickly. “Pompadour” and “bouffant” announce a class when they appear together.
The green was more complicated than it first appeared because the words are conversational rather than substantive. “Rather than” and “better” can feel disconnected until you realize that they all point to a preference or immediate choice.
Blue and purple is where the real pop-culture divide happens. Marvel fans might be hooked on Wolverine right away, but “Nightcrawler” might slow down fans who aren’t into the X-Men scene. At the time, the purple section depended almost entirely on mentally solving “The ___” from Star Wars titles, which is the kind of clue that some players love and others find very little of.
There was also a fair amount of noise overlap across the board. Words like “Phantom” and “Daredevil” feel awesome enough to tempt unrelated teams, making today’s puzzle more difficult than it first appeared.