Below: the Melio Connections puzzle for Sunday, May 17, 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 Sunday, May 17, 2026 below are the Melio answers, not the NYT ones.
The 16 words
CLUB
TANGO
SAMBA
WALTZ
APPLE
CORAL
INDIGO
WRAP
AMBER
GRAPE
SALSA
REUBEN
CHERRY
IVORY
BLT
BANANA
Hint ladder
Spoiler warning
Stage 1 — letter spread
Today's 16 words are spread across the alphabet. The most common starting letters are C (3×), A (2×), B (2×), S (2×).
Stage 2 — yellow theme
The yellow group's theme is "Fruits". 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: APPLE, BANANA, CHERRY, GRAPE.
APPLEBANANACHERRYGRAPE
Stage 4 — all four themes
The four categories, in order from easiest to hardest, are: Yellow (easiest): "Fruits" · Green: "Dance styles" · Blue: "Shades that share names" · Purple (trickiest): "Sandwich types".
Stage 5 — full solution
Below is the full grouping — each row is one category.