5 FiveLetterWords

A little help. Your own aha.

Connections #1209
hints & answers for October 2, 2026

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

#1209

This reference always shows October 2, 2026. 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
Gentle relationship clue

Think about helping a project get its resources.

Stronger relationship clue

These can act as verbs about providing money.

First-letter clue

Look for four entries beginning with B, B, F and S. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

BACK belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

FINANCE

Reveal all four words
  • BACK
  • BANKROLL
  • FUND
  • SUPPORT

BACK a venture, BANKROLL its launch, FUND it, and SUPPORT it financially are ways to talk about financing it. BACK and SUPPORT also have broader uses; the official FINANCE category narrows those verbs to money.

Sources, attribution and reuse

Dictionary-derived explanations identified below are original paraphrases adapted under the stated licence. Original board arrangements and mechanical checks are identified separately; the sources do not endorse this exercise.

Reviewed relationship tags

Independent mechanism: Synonyms and senses. Topic: Finance. These are curator annotations, not publisher labels.

BACK a venture, BANKROLL its launch, FUND it, and SUPPORT it financially are ways to talk about financing it. BACK and SUPPORT also have broader uses; the official FINANCE category narrows those verbs to money.

Sources, attribution and reuse

Dictionary-derived explanations identified below are original paraphrases adapted under the stated licence. Original board arrangements and mechanical checks are identified separately; the sources do not endorse this exercise.

By FiveLetterWords. Updated .

Green group

A little trickier

2/4
Gentle relationship clue

Think about a hand.

Stronger relationship clue

Each completes a familiar name for one of its digits.

First-letter clue

Look for four entries beginning with I, L, M and R. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

INDEX belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

FINGERS

Reveal all four words
  • INDEX
  • LITTLE
  • MIDDLE
  • RING

Add FINGER after each entry: INDEX FINGER, LITTLE FINGER, MIDDLE FINGER and RING FINGER. Each names a different finger on a hand. This is an exact shared completion, not a claim that the four bare words are synonyms.

Sources, attribution and reuse

Dictionary-derived explanations identified below are original paraphrases adapted under the stated licence. Original board arrangements and mechanical checks are identified separately; the sources do not endorse this exercise.

Reviewed relationship tags

Independent mechanism: Phrase completion. Topic: Human body. These are curator annotations, not publisher labels.

Add FINGER after each entry: INDEX FINGER, LITTLE FINGER, MIDDLE FINGER and RING FINGER. Each names a different finger on a hand. This is an exact shared completion, not a claim that the four bare words are synonyms.

Sources, attribution and reuse

Dictionary-derived explanations identified below are original paraphrases adapted under the stated licence. Original board arrangements and mechanical checks are identified separately; the sources do not endorse this exercise.

By FiveLetterWords. Updated .

Blue group

More challenging

3/4
Gentle relationship clue

Look for the usual version of something.

Stronger relationship clue

Use the adjective senses: think ordinary or already established.

First-letter clue

Look for four entries beginning with C, R, S and S. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

COMMON belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

CUSTOMARY

Reveal all four words
  • COMMON
  • ROUTINE
  • STANDARD
  • STOCK

COMMON can mean ordinary; ROUTINE can mean habitual or conventional; STANDARD can mean customary; and STOCK can describe an ordinary, ready-made response. The official CUSTOMARY category selects these adjective senses. Their other meanings do not have to overlap.

STOCK also names ownership shares, so it has a plausible financial association. On this board, however, STOCK belongs with the adjectives in CUSTOMARY, while FINANCE uses verbs. That is a concrete competing interpretation, not evidence of the setter’s intent or how often players made that mistake.

Sources, attribution and reuse

Dictionary-derived explanations identified below are original paraphrases adapted under the stated licence. Original board arrangements and mechanical checks are identified separately; the sources do not endorse this exercise.

Reviewed relationship tags

Independent mechanism: Synonyms and senses. These are curator annotations, not publisher labels.

COMMON can mean ordinary; ROUTINE can mean habitual or conventional; STANDARD can mean customary; and STOCK can describe an ordinary, ready-made response. The official CUSTOMARY category selects these adjective senses. Their other meanings do not have to overlap.

Sources, attribution and reuse

Dictionary-derived explanations identified below are original paraphrases adapted under the stated licence. Original board arrangements and mechanical checks are identified separately; the sources do not endorse this exercise.

By FiveLetterWords. Updated .

Purple group

Wordplay & surprises

4/4
Gentle relationship clue

One short word can introduce each entry.

Stronger relationship clue

Use one five-letter lead-in for a maths concept, a property description, a cut of meat and a TV slot.

Wordplay hint

Try putting the same beginning before each entry.

Show one word

NUMBER belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

PRIME ___

Reveal all four words
  • NUMBER
  • REAL ESTATE
  • RIB
  • TIME

Each entry comes after "PRIME" to form a word, expression or name: NUMBER → PRIME NUMBER; REAL ESTATE → PRIME REAL ESTATE; RIB → PRIME RIB; TIME → PRIME TIME.

Put PRIME before every entry: PRIME NUMBER is the mathematical term; PRIME REAL ESTATE describes high-quality or valuable property; PRIME RIB is a beef cut; and PRIME TIME is a principal evening broadcasting period. PRIME carries different senses across these phrases, but its position stays the same.

Sources, attribution and reuse

Dictionary-derived explanations identified below are original paraphrases adapted under the stated licence. Original board arrangements and mechanical checks are identified separately; the sources do not endorse this exercise.

Reviewed relationship tags

Independent mechanism: Phrase completion. These are curator annotations, not publisher labels.

Put PRIME before every entry: PRIME NUMBER is the mathematical term; PRIME REAL ESTATE describes high-quality or valuable property; PRIME RIB is a beef cut; and PRIME TIME is a principal evening broadcasting period. PRIME carries different senses across these phrases, but its position stays the same.

Sources, attribution and reuse

Dictionary-derived explanations identified below are original paraphrases adapted under the stated licence. Original board arrangements and mechanical checks are identified separately; the sources do not endorse this exercise.

By FiveLetterWords. Updated .

By FiveLetterWords. Updated .

Show categories only
  • Yellow: FINANCE
  • Green: FINGERS
  • Blue: CUSTOMARY
  • Purple: PRIME ___

Ready for the full solution?

All four categories and their words, together.

Reveal all four answers

Yellow

FINANCE

BACK · BANKROLL · FUND · SUPPORT

Green

FINGERS

INDEX · LITTLE · MIDDLE · RING

Blue

CUSTOMARY

COMMON · ROUTINE · STANDARD · STOCK

Purple

PRIME ___

NUMBER · REAL ESTATE · RIB · TIME

By FiveLetterWords · Guide updated

This puzzle’s recorded solution

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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.