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Connections Hint Today: October 20, 2026
This page provides spoiler-free hints for the New York Times Connections puzzle of Tuesday, October 20, 2026 (puzzle #1227). Each color group is released progressively, from a gentle clue to the complete answer, so you decide how much assistance you receive. You will also find a difficulty rating with an explanation, a practice board, a reveal assistant, solving strategies and the full answers to yesterday's puzzle. Nothing on this page is saved, and nothing affects your official game.
0 of 4 groups fully revealed
Today's Connections hint answer
This is the quick answer sheet for Connections #1227, published on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. It opens the puzzle one color at a time in three steps: a clue in your preferred style (hint, riddle or emoji), the category name, and finally the four words. The difficulty score below summarizes how demanding today's grid is overall and why.
Why this score. Yellow and green are plain synonym groups, and blue rewards a little niche knowledge. The trap is two words that look almost identical but belong to different groups. Purple is the real test, because it only appears when you say the words aloud rather than read them.
Where most people slip up. MINI and MINION look almost the same, but they belong to different groups. WRAP, DOCK and PUPPET also have more than one everyday meaning.
Purple hides its trick well: ARIAL, BELL, DOCK and MINI look unrelated until you say each one out loud.
Connections hints by color group
The hint ladder covers all four color groups, from yellow (the most direct link) to purple (wordplay and hidden meanings). Every group has four rungs: two clues, the category, and the four words. Open only the rungs you need; the progress bar at the top of the page fills as each group is fully revealed.
Start here: two words on this board look almost identical. Spot the overlap before you commit to a guess.
Words that will mislead you
Every Connections grid contains deliberate red herrings: words that resemble members of one category but belong to another. The notes below name the most misleading words on today's board and explain which group each one actually joins. Open only the words you are unsure about.
MINI
It is close to MINION in spelling, but listen to how it sounds.
DOCK
A place for boats, but try saying it out loud.
WRAP
A sandwich or gift paper, but its best fit is about bringing something to an end.
POODLE
A dog, but here it describes someone who does what they are told.
Practice today's Connections grid
The practice board reproduces today's sixteen words so you can test groupings without risking a mistake in the official game. Use Solve mode to submit sets of four, Plan mode to arrange the tiles into your own groups, and the Reveal assistant to unlock a category name, a hint or a single word whenever you need one.
Solve: pick four tiles and submit. A matching set locks in with its category name, and three of four shows "one away". Plan: tap two tiles to swap them and line up your own groups. Tap a colored Show pill to reveal that group's title. Anything you reveal in the assistant colors its tiles on the board.
How to play Connections
Connections is a daily word-grouping puzzle from The New York Times Games. The board holds sixteen words, and your task is to sort them into four groups of four, where each group shares a common link. The rules are short, but the links are rarely obvious.
- Study the sixteen words. Look for words that clearly belong together, and for words that could mean more than one thing.
- Select four words and submit. If they form a group, the set locks in, and its color and category name appear.
- Read the feedback. A wrong guess costs one mistake. If three of your four words are correct, the game tells you that you are "one away".
- Mind the mistake limit. You can make four mistakes. The fourth wrong guess ends the game.
- Understand the colors. Groups run from yellow (most direct) through green and blue to purple (trickiest), and solving all four wins the game.
How to use these hints
The hints on this page are designed to be taken in small doses, so the puzzle stays enjoyable. Follow the steps below and stop as soon as you can solve the group yourself.
- Try the grid on your own first. Even one group found without help makes the remaining hints more useful.
- Pick the group you are stuck on. Start with its first clue and ignore the rest of the page.
- Climb one rung at a time. Move from Clue 1 to Clue 2, then to the category name. The category alone is often enough.
- Reveal the words last. Open the four words only when the clues and the category have not been enough.
- Test your idea on the practice board. Submit your guess there first, so a wrong answer costs nothing in the official game.
Solving strategy
Connections rewards a consistent method more than a large vocabulary. The seven techniques below are the ones that most reliably reduce mistakes, and each is followed by a spoiler-free note on how it applies to today's grid.
- Take the sure thing first. Clear categories like colors, animals or months lock in quickly and shrink the board.Today: yellow is rated 1.3 out of 5, which makes it the safest place to begin.
- Fill in a blank. Try the same word before or after every tile.Cold ___ gives cold brew, cold case, cold feet, cold war. Today: one group appears only when you say each word out loud rather than read it.
- Expect decoys. If five words fit a theme, one of them lives elsewhere.Mars can be a planet or a candy bar. Today: MINI and MINION look almost the same but belong to different groups, so check what the other groups need before committing.
- Look at what remains. Before submitting, ask whether the other twelve words get easier.Today: once one group is locked in, the leftover tempting word usually has only one place to go.
- Give a word a second meaning. Lead is a metal and a verb; turkey is a bird and a country.Today: several plain, everyday words carry a second, less common meaning.
- Hold your mistakes. If two groups tempt you equally, work on a third first.Today: purple is rated 3.5 out of 5, so leave it for last and solve it by elimination.
- Treat "one away" as data. Swap a single word rather than guessing at random.Today: if you are one away, reconsider the words that can be read in two ways.
Common mistakes
- Forcing every word into one theme.
- Reading words too literally.
- Ignoring short, plain words that hide other meanings.
- Hunting for purple before the other groups are done.
Understanding difficulty
Connections colors signal difficulty, from the most direct link in yellow to wordplay in purple. The scale below explains what each color usually tests and shows how today's puzzle rates on it (overall 2.3 out of 5), so you know where to expect resistance.
Connections FAQs
These answers cover how this page works, how Connections is played, and how the daily puzzle is scheduled and scored.
What are today's Connections hints?
Use the Hint ladder at the top of this page. Each color group opens in four steps: two clues, the category, then the four words, so you can stop as soon as you have what you need.
What is today's Connections puzzle number?
Today's puzzle is #1227, for Tuesday, October 20, 2026. The number goes up by one every day.
How hard is today's Connections?
Check the difficulty score near the top of this page. It rates the puzzle out of 5, shows how hard each color group is, and explains why.
Where can I find yesterday's Connections answers?
Scroll to "Yesterday's Connections hint answer" at the bottom of the Hint ladder tab. Past puzzles are also kept in the NYT Games archive for subscribers.
Can I practice the puzzle without spoilers?
Yes. Open the Practice board tab, pick four tiles and submit. You can also use the Reveal assistant for a group name, a hint or a single word. Nothing is saved and nothing affects the official game.
How many mistakes can you make?
Four. The fourth wrong guess ends the game.
What's the best first step?
Begin with the group you are surest of, or with words that have only one meaning.
Why do some words seem to fit two groups?
Those are deliberate red herrings. If five words fit a theme, one of them belongs elsewhere, so look at what the other groups need before you submit.
What do the colors mean in Connections?
Yellow is the most direct link, green is a broader category, blue is less obvious or more abstract, and purple is wordplay, hidden words or a reference.
Why is the purple group so hard?
It usually depends on wordplay, hidden words or a cultural reference, so it is easiest to solve last, by elimination.
When does a new puzzle appear?
Every day at midnight, local time.
When did Connections start, and who makes it?
Connections launched on The New York Times Games in June 2023. Wyna Liu is the NYT editor best known for putting the daily grids together.
Is Connections free to play?
The daily puzzle can be played on the NYT Games website and app. This page is an independent fan site and is not affiliated with The New York Times.