NYT Connections Hints for August 19, 2026 — Puzzle #1165

Sixteen words, four hidden categories. Hints reveal structure, then the grouping.

Hints and answers for NYT Connections #1165 on August 19, 2026: how many groups there are, a masked theme for each group, then the four categories one at a time, then all sixteen words and the full grouping.

Puzzle date: August 19, 2026 (2026-08-19) · #1165 · Source: the game's public daily data (https://www.nytimes.com/svc/connections/v2/2026-08-19.json). Hints are derived from that day's verified answer data — no invented clues, difficulty scores or word claims.

1. The shape of the puzzle

There are 4 categories of 4 words each (16 words total).

2. The four themes, masked

Each theme below keeps its word shapes and the first letter of every word:

P _ _ _ _ O _ C _ _ _
C _ _ _ _ _ _
W _ _ _ _ B _ _ _ _ _ B _ _ _ I _ S _ _ _ _ N _ _ _ _
H _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ O _ C _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ F _ _ _ _

3. Reveal a theme, one at a time

Show theme 1

PIECE OF CAKE

Show theme 2

CONCEAL

Show theme 3

WORDS BEFORE "BALL" IN SPORT NAMES

Show theme 4

HOMOPHONES OF CGI-ANIMATED FILMS

NYT Connections answer for August 19, 2026 — puzzle #1165

PIECE OF CAKE

PICNIC, BREEZE, SNAP, CINCH

CONCEAL

BLANKET, MASK, OBSCURE, HIDE

WORDS BEFORE "BALL" IN SPORT NAMES

BASKET, PICKLE, FOOT, BASE

HOMOPHONES OF CGI-ANIMATED FILMS

ANTS, COCOA, SEOUL, RHEO

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