Below: the Melio Connections puzzle for Wednesday, May 6, 2026, a progressive hint ladder so you can work toward the solution without spoiling it, and the full color-coded grouping if you want the answer outright.
Heads up: Melio’s Connections grids are independently authored. The answers for Wednesday, May 6, 2026 below are the Melio answers, not the NYT ones.
The 16 words
PAWN
SPRITE
EAST
PEPSI
NORTH
WEST
CRIMSON
CHERRY
SCARLET
RUBY
ROOK
FANTA
COKE
KNIGHT
SOUTH
BISHOP
Hint ladder
Spoiler warning
Stage 1: letter spread
Today's 16 words are spread across the alphabet. The most common starting letters are S (3×), C (3×), P (2×), R (2×).
Stage 2: yellow theme
The yellow group's theme is "Compass points". That's the easiest grouping; pick the four words that fit and you're a quarter of the way through.
Stage 3: yellow group reveal
The four yellow words are: NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST.
NORTHSOUTHEASTWEST
Stage 4: all four themes
The four categories, in order from easiest to hardest, are: Yellow (easiest): "Compass points" · Green: "Sodas" · Blue: "Shades of red" · Purple (trickiest): "Chess pieces".
Stage 5: full solution
Below is the full grouping; each row is one category.