Connections Hints for Today, Sunday February 22, 2026 ET: One Set Is All Vibes, One Set Is All History
Today’s Connections grid looks deceptively neat: most of the words feel familiar, and several seem like they belong together right away. That’s the trap. This puzzle rewards you for separating “sounds related” from “is actually a category,” then saving one pop-culture set for later so it doesn’t steal words from the other groups.
Below are spoiler-light hints first, then stronger nudges if you want them. I’ll keep it structured so you can stop reading as soon as you get unstuck.
What happened in today’s grid
The 16 words include a cluster that reads like personality labels, another that feels like descriptions you might use for hair or coloring, a set that screams classic pop culture, and a final set that only clicks if you switch into “history mode.” The biggest mistake most solvers make is mixing the “descriptive” words across two groups because they share a similar tone.
Spoiler-light hints for the four categories
Category A: The outsider set
Think: the one who does not fit in, the one who is pushed out, the one who is not accepted. If you imagine a school hallway or a team dynamic, this group basically describes the same social role four different ways.
Nudge: If you find four words that could all be said about the same person who does not belong, you’re on it.
Category B: The gray-haired or gray-looking set
This one is more about appearance than identity. Think of words you might use for a look that is peppered, streaked, or turning gray.
Nudge: Imagine describing someone’s hair or a surface pattern where darker and lighter tones are mixed.
Category C: The long-running funny pages set
These are titles that have been around for a long time and are strongly associated with newspaper comics. If you recognize even one, you can probably pull the rest by association.
Nudge: If it feels like something you grew up seeing on Sundays, you’re in the right lane.
Category D: The early 20th-century American political set
This group is the “gear shift.” It connects to a specific U.S. president and the imagery, slogans, and labels associated with him and his era.
Nudge: Think outdoorsy, reform-era energy, and a larger-than-life public persona that became a brand in itself.
Stronger hints that still avoid a full spoiler dump
If you have two solid pairs and can’t finish a group
Try locking the outsider set first. It’s the cleanest because the words are pure identity labels with almost no overlap in meaning with the other categories. Once those four are gone, the grid becomes much calmer.
How to spot the gray-looking set without guessing
One of the words in this group is a very common phrase for hair color that mixes dark and light. Another is a “speckled” style description. If you’re debating whether a word is “about being respected” or “about looking gray,” lean toward the literal, visual interpretation.
How to handle the comic titles
Do not split them. The comic group is all proper titles, and they function differently than the rest of the grid. If you see a title that clearly belongs on a comics page, keep it in a mental pile and wait until you can collect four of them confidently.
The history set is the closer
If you end up with words that feel like mascots, movements, or slogans, you’re probably looking at the history group. The trick is realizing they point to one figure and one political moment, not a general theme like “animals” or “sports.”
What to watch for, the main pitfall
The puzzle wants you to misuse one word by taking it as a personality trait rather than a visual description. If you keep swapping a “respectable” sounding word into the outsider group, stop and ask: does it actually mean rejected, or does it describe a look and vibe?
Next steps if you want a gentle nudge tailored to your board
Tell me which four words you currently think belong together, and I’ll say whether that set is correct and give you one steering hint for the remaining words without listing the full solutions.
