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 Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Wednesday, October 21 (game #1228).
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 #1229) - today's words
Today's NYT Connections words are…
- MOBILE
- COMFORT
- BLANK
- SAFETY
- RELIEF
- GRIP
- END
- BUST
- HANDLE
- TACKLE
- PILL
- KNOB
- SHE
- GUARD
- HILT
- STATUE
NYT Connections today (game #1229) - hint #1 - group hints
What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: Grab a hold of something
- GREEN: Art you with weight
- BLUE: NFL players
- PURPLE: Partially sleep on these
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 #1229) - hint #2 - group answers
What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: PARTS TO BE GRASPED
- GREEN: KINDS OF SCULPTURES
- BLUE: AMERICAN FOOTBALL POSITIONS
- PURPLE: STARTS OF BEDDING
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Connections today (game #1229) - the answers
The answers to today's Connections, game #1229, are…
- YELLOW: PARTS TO BE GRASPED: GRIP, HANDLE, HILT, KNOB
- GREEN: KINDS OF SCULPTURES: BUST, MOBILE, RELIEF, STATUE
- BLUE: AMERICAN FOOTBALL POSITIONS: END, GUARD, SAFETY, TACKLE
- PURPLE: STARTS OF BEDDING: BLANK, COMFORT, PILL, SHE
- My rating: Hard
- My score: Perfect
You know a game is difficult when the yellow/so-called easiest group has multiple possibilities that could trip you up. In this case, SAFETY and GUARD could easily have joined the four tiles that made up PARTS TO BE GRASPED.
Fortunately, I avoided the traps (I also had a brief moment contemplating a baby-themed foursome) before I landed KINDS OF SCULPTURES early on in the game.
Everything we do informs our Connections knowledge and for me, knowing an artist and remembering some of the ways she has described her art pieces helped me connect BUST, MOBILE, RELIEF and STATUE with confidence.
Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Wednesday, October 21, 2026, game #1228)
- YELLOW: CLASSIC CHILDREN'S GAMES: DUCK DUCK GOOSE, HOT POTATO, LEAPFROG, MUSICAL CHAIRS
- GREEN: IMPORTANT PERSON: ALPHA DOG, BIG CHEESE, HEAVYWEIGHT, TOP BANANA
- BLUE: FAMOUS PAINTINGS: AMERICAN GOTHIC, CAMPBELL'S SOUP CAN, SUNFLOWERS, THE SCREAM
- PURPLE: DOUBLE MISNOMERS (NEITHER WORD IS AN ACCURATE DESCRIPTION):
- ENGLISH HORN, GRAPE-NUTS, MANTIS SHRIMP, SWEETBREAD
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.
