Clues and hints to help you solve puzzle #1085
Updated: May 31, 2026 11:19 am
Today’s Connect puzzle has one of those grids that looks easier than it really is. The yellow and green sections are approachable, but the deeper you go into the board, the more likely you are to guess connections that seem obvious at first. All in all, it’s very different than yesterday’s connection.
If today’s puzzle is confusing, the hints and answers below should point you in the right direction.
NYT communication tips for May 31
Here are some tips to help narrow down today’s stages.
- Yellow group tip: Objects and characters that are often associated with one color
- 🟩 Green team tip: Terms you might hear around the pool table
- 🟦 Green team tip: Informal names for people who work at sea
- Purple team tip: Look within words instead of the whole word
One response from each Connections group
Need more clues? Here is one word for each category.
- 🨨 PIKACHU
- 🟩 FOR
- 🟦 Sea Dog
- STEP
Today’s sections of the NYT Connection
- Yellow stuff
- 🟩 Rules of Billiard
- 🟦 Slang for a sailor
- Types of wood and “S”
Today’s NYT Connections Answers for May 31
If you’re ready for the full solution, here it is:
- Yellow items: BUTTER, PIKACHU, RUBBER DAD, SCHOOL BUS
- 🟩 Building terms: BREAK, CUE, POCKET, RACK
- 🟦 Sailor Slang: JACK, SALT, SEA DOG, TAR
- Types of wood and “S”: SASH, SOAK, EARTH, FLESH
Separation of links
The yellow phase was probably an easy start for most players. Butter, a rubber duck, a school bus, and Pikachu all share a common visual connection, making the theme easy to identify.
Green and blue sat comfortably in the middle of the difficulty range. Players familiar with billiards terms are likely to solve green quickly, while blue relies on recognizing a collection of old nicknames and slang terms associated with sailors.
The purple section is what gave today’s puzzle its bite. The words themselves are not related on the face of it, and trying to connect them with a meaning doesn’t get you very far. The trick was to note that each name contained a type of wood with an extra “S” at the beginning.
What makes today’s puzzle memorable is how different the last section feels from the others. While the first three groups rely on specific themes and meanings, purple shifts to pattern attention and hidden wordplay. That’s the kind of category that can feel incredibly satisfying or completely invisible until the question.