A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Monday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Monday, October 19 (game #1226).
Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.
What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
NYT Connections today (game #1227) - today's words
Today's NYT Connections words are…
- CHEVRON
- DOCK
- BELL
- PENCIL
- POODLE
- WRAP
- MINI
- MINION
- WALRUS
- PUPPET
- CLOSE
- HORSESHOE
- ARIAL
- STOP
- STOOGE
- END
NYT Connections today (game #1227) - hint #1 - group hints
What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: It’s all over
- GREEN: Take the fall for the crime
- BLUE: Fancy facial hair
- PURPLE: Sounds like House of Mouse characters
Need more clues?
We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…
NYT Connections today (game #1227) - hint #2 - group answers
What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: FINISH
- GREEN: LACKEY
- BLUE: MUSTACHES
- PURPLE: HOMOPHONES OF DISNEY CHARACTERS
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Connections today (game #1227) - the answers
The answers to today's Connections, game #1227, are…
- YELLOW: FINISH: CLOSE, END, STOP, WRAP
- GREEN: LACKEY: MINION, POODLE, PUPPET, STOOGE
- BLUE: MUSTACHES: CHEVRON, HORSESHOE, PENCIL, WALRUS
- PURPLE: HOMOPHONES OF DISNEY CHARACTERS: ARIAL, BELL, DOCK, MINI
- My rating: Hard
- My score: 3 mistakes
This was such a horrible game and I came close to failure.
After getting LACKEY relatively easily, I made a mess of FINISH, opting for DOCK instead of STOP; I think I was thinking of things like spaceships coming to the end of their journeys.
For HOMOPHONES OF DISNEY CHARACTERS no logic at all was applied, I just got lucky with my second random guess and got a 'one away'.
Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Monday, October 19, 2026, game #1226)
- YELLOW: SEETHE: BOIL, FUME, RAVE, STEAM
- GREEN: ALL TALK: BLATHER, GAS, HOT AIR, WIND
- BLUE: "MC" THINGS AT MCDONALD'S: FLURRY, MUFFIN, NUGGETS, RIB
- PURPLE: ENDING IN BIRDS: ALIBIS, BALLOON, ESCROW, MOHAWK
What is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.
On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.
It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.
It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.