Entertainment
NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for February 27, 2026
The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult to solve if you’re disloyal.
Connections is the one of the most popular New York Times word games that’s captured the public’s attention. The game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.
If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for today’s Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
What is Connections?
The NYT‘s latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications’ Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer.
If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.
Mashable Top Stories
Here’s a hint for today’s Connections categories
Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:
Here are today’s Connections categories
Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:
Looking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.
Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.
Drumroll, please!
The solution to today’s Connections #992 is…
What is the answer to Connections today
-
Backstabber: JUDAS, SNAKE, TRAITOR, TURNCOAT
-
Aura: AIR, IMPRESSION, MANNER, QUALITY
-
Kinds of chain reaction “effects”: BUTTERFLY, DOMINO, RIPPLE, SNOWBALL
-
___ Press: BENCH, DRILL, FRENCH, PRINTING
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? Get all the Strands hints you need for today’s puzzle.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Connections.
Entertainment
Hurdle hints and answers for February 28, 2026
If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.
There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it’ll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.
An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.
If you find yourself stuck at any step of today’s Hurdle, don’t worry! We have you covered.
Hurdle Word 1 hint
A thin atmospheric layer.
Hurdle Word 1 answer
OZONE
Hurdle Word 2 hint
An infectious disease.
Mashable Top Stories
Hurdle Word 2 Answer
POLIO
Hurdle Word 3 hint
Part of a flower.
Hurdle Word 3 answer
PETAL
Hurdle Word 4 hint
Land.
Hurdle Word 4 answer
TERRA
Final Hurdle hint
Popular.
Hurdle Word 5 answer
KNOWN
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Entertainment
Moon phase today: What the Moon will look like on February 28
The Moon is so very close to being full, but believe it or not, there’s still a few days to go. While it continues to appear bigger and brighter in the sky, keep reading to find out exactly what you can see on its surface.
What is today’s Moon phase?
As of Saturday, Feb. 28, the Moon phase is Waxing Gibbous. According to NASA’s Daily Moon Guide, 88% of the Moon will be lit up tonight.
With just your naked eye, tonight you’ll be able to see the Mares Tranquillitatis and Crisium. With binoculars you’ll be able to see the Mare Nectaris, the Alphonsus Crater, and the Alps Mountains. If you love your moon-gazing gear, get out the telescope to catch a glimpse of and with a telescope you’ll see also see the Apollo 15 and 11 landing spots, and the Fra Mauro Highlands.
When is the next Full Moon?
The next Full Moon will be on March 3. The last Full Moon was on Feb. 1.
What are Moon phases?
According to NASA, the Moon takes about 29.5 days to orbit the Earth. Over the course of this period, it moves through eight recognisable phases, what we call the lunar cycle. While the same side of the Moon always faces us, the amount of its surface lit by the Sun changes as it continues along its path. The shifts in sunlight create the different appearances we see from Earth, ranging from a fully illuminated Moon to a thin sliver or near darkness. The eight phases are:
New Moon – The Moon is between Earth and the sun, so the side we see is dark (in other words, it’s invisible to the eye).
Mashable Light Speed
Waxing Crescent – A small sliver of light appears on the right side (Northern Hemisphere).
First Quarter – Half of the Moon is lit on the right side. It looks like a half-Moon.
Waxing Gibbous – More than half is lit up, but it’s not quite full yet.
Full Moon – The whole face of the Moon is illuminated and fully visible.
Waning Gibbous – The Moon starts losing light on the right side. (Northern Hemisphere)
Third Quarter (or Last Quarter) – Another half-Moon, but now the left side is lit.
Waning Crescent – A thin sliver of light remains on the left side before going dark again.
Entertainment
Connor Storrie makes out with Sarah Sherman in SNL promo
Heated Rivalry‘s Connor Storrie is hosting SNL this Saturday, and in the clip above he takes on the time-honored tradition of filming a series of increasingly silly promo videos with a cast member (in this case Sarah Sherman) and the musical guest (Mumford & Sons).
There are an unsurprisingly large number of jokes about Heated Rivalry from Sherman, capped off by a bit in which the two pretend to make out with each other — and the entirety of Mumford & Sons get involved too.
Elsewhere, be sure to check out Storrie’s undeniably impressive range of accents.
Hurdle hints and answers for February 28, 2026
Moon phase today: What the Moon will look like on February 28
