NYT Connections Hints #992 — Friday, February 27, 2026: Clues, and Full Answers
Today's NYT Connections puzzle is #992, live now on the New York Times website and app. The theme for Friday's grid leans into betrayal, personal energy, cause-and-effect science, and wordplay — with the Purple category being the trickiest trap of the day. Here is everything you need, from gentle nudges to full spoilers.
Today's Connections Hints — No Spoilers Yet
Start here if you want a push in the right direction without having the answers handed to you. The Yellow category nudge: think about people or things that betray trust. The Green category clue: these words describe intangible characteristics or vibes. The Blue category hint: consider different types of effects that spread or multiply. The Purple category teaser: these words all complete the same two-word phrase.
The Purple group is the trickiest today, as it requires you to spot a common word that follows each option. Once you think of "press," the connection becomes much clearer. If you are still stuck after those nudges, the full category names and answers are directly below.
Full Connections Answers for February 27, 2026 — SPOILERS BELOW
Stop scrolling now if you are still solving.
The Yellow group is BACKSTABBER: JUDAS, SNAKE, TRAITOR, TURNCOAT. The Green group is AURA: AIR, IMPRESSION, MANNER, QUALITY. The Blue group is KINDS OF CHAIN REACTION "EFFECTS": BUTTERFLY, DOMINO, RIPPLE, SNOWBALL. The Purple group is ___ PRESS: BENCH, DRILL, FRENCH, PRINTING.
Breaking Down Each Category
In the Yellow group, all four terms describe someone who betrays others. Judas refers to the biblical betrayer of Jesus, Snake is a common metaphor for a treacherous person, Traitor is the straightforward term, and Turncoat describes someone who switches sides. Given that Rob Rausch just won The Traitors Season 4 last night, this category landed with extra cultural resonance this morning.
The Green group covers words that all describe intangible characteristics or the general feeling something gives off. Air refers to one's demeanor or presence, Impression is the effect made on others, Manner describes one's way of behaving, and Quality refers to distinctive attributes.
The Blue group covers the DOMINO, BUTTERFLY, RIPPLE, and SNOWBALL effects — four well-known cause-and-effect phenomena. Note that Snowball is subtly different from the others: instead of one thing triggering the next in a chain, it describes accumulation, with one thing leading to more and more of the same thing.
The Purple Trap: ___ PRESS
The Purple category is where most players lost a life today. BENCH, DRILL, FRENCH, and PRINTING all precede the word PRESS — giving you Bench Press, Drill Press, French Press, and Printing Press. The difficulty lies in how naturally DRILL, FRENCH, and PRINTING slot into other categories, making the shared suffix easy to miss entirely.
Tomorrow's Connections: Saturday, February 28, Puzzle #993
Already planning ahead for Saturday? Tomorrow's Yellow category relates to wanting. The Green category relates to occupations that share something logistical. The Blue category relates to words that sound masculine. The Purple category relates to things you might see in the sky — but with a little extra added to confuse you. Fair warning: tomorrow's Purple group is designed to mislead — approach it carefully.
