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Use the quick hints first if you want to protect your streak. The full answers and explanations are farther down the page.
Momentum
Stamina
Traction
Accessorize
Change
Primp
Shower
Dog
Dragon
Horse
Snake
Anemone
Larkspur
Monkshood
Phlox
Today’s Connections Words
Here are the 16 words in the Monday, June 15, 2026 puzzle edited by Wyna Liu:
legs, momentum, stamina, traction, accessorize, change, primp, shower, dog, dragon, horse, snake, anemone, larkspur, monkshood, phlox.
Four groups. Sixteen words. One flower group that reads like a spelling test. Let’s warm up slowly so nothing gets spoiled too fast.
If you just finished, you can jump ahead to yesterday’s board with the NYT Connections hints and answers for June 14, 2026.
Quick No-Spoiler Hints
No answers here. Just gentle nudges.
- Yellow: things that keep going and don’t fade fast.
- Green: stuff you do before heading out for the evening.
- Blue: you might see these on a placemat at a Chinese restaurant.
- Purple: they grow in gardens, and one of them can actually hurt you.
Stronger Hints
Getting warmer. Still holding back the full grid.
- Yellow: think “this movie has ___” when it keeps selling tickets.
- Green: one of these also means putting on jewelry.
- Blue: a calendar of twelve creatures, one per year.
- Purple: four flower names, and two of them sound completely made up.
The purple group is the sneaky one. If a word looks unfamiliar and you can’t place it anywhere else, it might just be a plant.
Today’s Connections Answers
Spoilers start now. Look away if you still want to solve it yourself.
- Staying power: legs, momentum, stamina, traction
- Get ready for a night out: accessorize, change, primp, shower
- Chinese zodiac animals: dog, dragon, horse, snake
- Flowers: anemone, larkspur, monkshood, phlox
Why Each Group Works
Staying power (legs, momentum, stamina, traction)
All four describe something that keeps going. A hit song “has legs.” A campaign builds momentum. A runner has stamina. An idea gains traction. They are different pictures of the same feeling: this thing is not slowing down.
The trap: “legs” feels physical and body-related, so people try to pair it with a grooming or animal idea. Here it is pure idiom. We break down that idiom on our legs meaning guide.
Get ready for a night out (accessorize, change, primp, shower)
These are steps in a pre-going-out routine. You shower, you change clothes, you primp, you accessorize. Simple once you see it as a sequence.
The trap: “change” is a chameleon word. It can mean coins, weather, or transformation. “Shower” can mean rain or a party for a baby. The puzzle counts on you overthinking. The odd word here is primp, which we unpack on our primp meaning guide.
Chinese zodiac animals (dog, dragon, horse, snake)
Twelve animals rotate through the Chinese calendar, one per year. Dog, dragon, horse, and snake are four of them.
The trap: “snake” and “dragon” also sound like flower or fantasy words, and “horse” and “dog” can trigger slang readings. But zodiac is the clean link once you spot two obvious animals.
Flowers (anemone, larkspur, monkshood, phlox)
This is the group that made people stare. Anemone, larkspur, monkshood, and phlox are all real flowers.
The trap: these look like anything but plants. Monkshood sounds like a fantasy villain, and it is famously poisonous, which we cover on our monkshood meaning guide. Larkspur sounds like a place name, and we explain it on our larkspur meaning guide.
Tricky Words And Decoys
A few words were built to pull you the wrong way.
- Legs: reads as a body part, but here it means lasting power.
- Change: money, weather, or clothes? Only the clothes meaning fits.
- Snake: zodiac animal, not a flower or an insult.
- Monkshood and larkspur: they sound invented, so people assume they must belong to a fancier category. They are just flowers.
When a word looks like it could fit two groups, hold it loosely. Lock in your most certain four first, then let the leftovers sort themselves out.
How To Solve More Puzzles Like This
Start with the group you are most sure about. Today, the zodiac animals or the flowers were the safest anchors once you recognized even two members.
Watch for theme words that hide as everyday words. “Legs” and “traction” only click when you drop the literal reading.
If a word looks totally foreign, guess a category, not a definition. Odd-looking words in Connections are often flowers, gems, or old-fashioned terms.
Save the flexible words for last. “Change” and “shower” could go several ways, so let the firmer groups box them in.
Want tomorrow’s board? Head to the NYT Connections hints and answers for June 16, 2026 when you are ready.
FAQ
What is the hardest group today? The flowers group. Monkshood and phlox look unfamiliar, so players second-guess them. Our monkshood meaning guide explains why it feels so strange.
Why is “legs” in the staying power group? Because “has legs” means something lasts. See the full breakdown on our legs meaning guide.
What does primp mean here? It means fussing over your appearance before going out. More on the primp meaning guide.
Are monkshood and larkspur really flowers? Yes. Both are garden plants, and larkspur is even a birth flower. See our larkspur meaning guide.
Where are yesterday’s and tomorrow’s puzzles? Check the June 14, 2026 hub and the June 16, 2026 hub.
Today’s Connections Explainers
These pages are built from the same puzzle, so they are the most relevant next reads.