Below: the Melio Connections puzzle for Wednesday, June 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 Wednesday, June 17, 2026 below are the Melio answers, not the NYT ones.
The 16 words
MOCHA
AMERICANO
SOLITAIRE
RIGATONI
DELTA
RUMMY
ESPRESSO
OMEGA
FUSILLI
BETA
FARFALLE
ALPHA
POKER
LATTE
BRIDGE
PENNE
Hint ladder
Spoiler warning
Stage 1: letter spread
Today's 16 words are spread across the alphabet. The most common starting letters are A (2×), P (2×), R (2×), F (2×).
Stage 2: yellow theme
The yellow group's theme is "Coffee drinks". 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: LATTE, MOCHA, ESPRESSO, AMERICANO.
LATTEMOCHAESPRESSOAMERICANO
Stage 4: all four themes
The four categories, in order from easiest to hardest, are: Yellow (easiest): "Coffee drinks" · Green: "Pasta shapes" · Blue: "Card games" · Purple (trickiest): "Greek letters".
Stage 5: full solution
Below is the full grouping; each row is one category.