NYT Connections Hints and Answers for Feb. 14, 2026 — Puzzle #979

Spoiler warning: the full solutions for today’s Connections puzzle are listed below. If you want to try the board without hints, stop reading now. Puzzle #979, published on Feb. 14, 2026, features four distinct themes spread across 16 words. The next daily puzzle arrives at midnight ET.

Yellow (Easiest) — Uptick

Hint: Think increase or upward movement. This was the puzzle’s most straightforward quartet.

• HIKE
• JUMP
• RISE
• SPIKE

These four words share a clear commonality: each can describe a sudden or notable upward change, whether in physical motion or measured values.

Green (Medium) — Protuberance

Hint: Small, rounded elevations — often used in medical or physical descriptions.

• BUMP
• HUMP
• LUMP
• MOUND

All four refer to raised areas on a surface. The group tests recognition of near-synonymous nouns that are frequently used in everyday and technical contexts.

Blue (Challenging) — Film Roles

Hint: The actor in this group also starred in the movie Big.

• GUMP
• PHILLIPS
• SULLY
• WOODY

Each entry is a last name or moniker tied to a prominent film role held by the same actor. That shared performer connects these disparate characters across decades of work.

Purple (Toughest) — Words That Precede “Mint”

Hint: Think common toothpaste flavors.

• BREATH
• JUNIOR
• PEPPER
• SPEAR

Attach “mint” to each word and you get recognizable phrases or compounds: breath mint, Junior Mint, peppermint (from pepper + mint), and spearmint (from spear + mint). This group ranks hardest because a couple of entries require mental stretching to reach the “mint” connection.

How the Puzzle Scored Today

Players generally see one group as immediately obvious, one or two as moderately tricky and one that demands a lateral leap; today’s layout followed that pattern. The uptick quartet provided the fastest solves, while the mint-themed group forced solvers to think in terms of word pairing rather than strict synonyms.

Play Tips

When you hit a dead end, scan the remaining words for shared prefixes, suffixes or obvious semantic clusters (synonyms, categories, or shared cultural references). If one cluster leans heavily on pop-culture knowledge, the remaining groups will usually be more dictionary-based — or vice versa. And remember: one puzzle per day, next one drops at midnight ET.

Enjoy the puzzle and share your stats if you track completion streaks or perfect runs. Happy solving.