Below: the Melio Connections puzzle for Monday, May 18, 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 Monday, May 18, 2026 below are the Melio answers, not the NYT ones.
The 16 words
TESLA
BEER
AUDI
JUNE
DIAMONDS
SPADES
RUM
MAY
HEARTS
BMW
WINE
APRIL
AUGUST
FORD
WHISKEY
CLUBS
Hint ladder
Spoiler warning
Stage 1 — letter spread
Today's 16 words are spread across the alphabet. The most common starting letters are A (3×), B (2×), W (2×), F (1×).
Stage 2 — yellow theme
The yellow group's theme is "Car brands". 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: BMW, AUDI, FORD, TESLA.
BMWAUDIFORDTESLA
Stage 4 — all four themes
The four categories, in order from easiest to hardest, are: Yellow (easiest): "Car brands" · Green: "Alcoholic drinks" · Blue: "Card suits" · Purple (trickiest): "Months that are also names".
Stage 5 — full solution
Below is the full grouping — each row is one category.