A little help. Your own aha.

Connections #862
hints & answers for October 20, 2025

Keep the satisfaction of the solve. Get a nudge for one group, reveal a category, or check the answers at your own pace.

This reference always shows October 20, 2025. It is released in at least one timezone; every answer stays closed until you reveal it.

Which group has you stuck?

Pick a colour. Reveal one step at a time.

Yellow group

Straightforward

1/4
First-letter clue

Look for four entries beginning with B, C, D and H. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

BUGBEAR belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

AFFLICTION

Reveal all four words
  • BUGBEAR
  • COMPLEX
  • DEMON
  • HANG-UP

Green group

A little trickier

2/4
First-letter clue

Look for four entries beginning with B, C, H and L. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

BIG BEAR belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

REPRESENTED BY CONSTELLATIONS

Reveal all four words
  • BIG BEAR
  • CENTAUR
  • HUNTER
  • LYRE

Blue group

More challenging

3/4
First-letter clue

Look for four entries beginning with A, B, I and K. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

AS belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

PERIODIC TABLE SYMBOLS

Reveal all four words
  • AS
  • BE
  • I
  • K

Purple group

Wordplay & surprises

4/4
Wordplay hint

Try adding the same ending to each entry.

Show one word

A belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

___CORN

Reveal all four words
  • A
  • CAPRI
  • POP
  • UNI

Each entry comes before "CORN" to form a word, expression or name: A → A CORN; CAPRI → CAPRI CORN; POP → POP CORN; UNI → UNI CORN.

Show categories only
  • Yellow: AFFLICTION
  • Green: REPRESENTED BY CONSTELLATIONS
  • Blue: PERIODIC TABLE SYMBOLS
  • Purple: ___CORN

Ready for the full solution?

All four categories and their words, together.

Reveal all four answers

Yellow

AFFLICTION

BUGBEAR · COMPLEX · DEMON · HANG-UP

Green

REPRESENTED BY CONSTELLATIONS

BIG BEAR · CENTAUR · HUNTER · LYRE

Blue

PERIODIC TABLE SYMBOLS

AS · BE · I · K

Purple

___CORN

A · CAPRI · POP · UNI

This puzzle’s recorded solution

The date and puzzle number identify this exact board. Use the individual group controls to compare its recorded categories and words, then return to the archive to find another puzzle.

About the answers and hints

Categories and answers follow the recorded NYT puzzle. Our hints are independent: some are original category clues, while others give the first letters of the four words. Each hint is labelled so you can choose how much help to take.

Group colours follow the puzzle’s yellow, green, blue and purple order, from the most straightforward to the trickiest. Your own experience may differ. The reference tiles may appear in a different order from your game. Picture puzzles have separately hidden descriptions, since a description can give away the wordplay.

The daily page starts with the UTC puzzle date and, with JavaScript enabled, checks the puzzle for your local time zone. Every reveal starts closed when the date changes. Play Connections at The New York Times or contact us about a correction.