A little help. Your own aha.

Connections #1234
hints & answers for October 27, 2026

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 27, 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
First-letter clue

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

Show one word

FIDDLE belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

MESS (WITH)

Reveal all four words
  • FIDDLE
  • MEDDLE
  • TINKER
  • TRIFLE

Green group

A little trickier

2/4
First-letter clue

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

Show one word

ANVIL belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

PARTS OF THE EAR

Reveal all four words
  • ANVIL
  • CANAL
  • DRUM
  • STIRRUP

Blue group

More challenging

3/4
Wordplay hint

Try adding the same ending to each entry.

Show one word

DIVING belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

___ BELL

Reveal all four words
  • DIVING
  • JINGLE
  • LIBERTY
  • TACO

Each entry comes before "BELL" to form a word, expression or name: DIVING → DIVING BELL; JINGLE → JINGLE BELL; LIBERTY → LIBERTY BELL; TACO → TACO BELL.

Purple group

Wordplay & surprises

4/4
Wordplay hint

Try putting the same beginning before each entry.

Show one word

BOTTOMS belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

BELL ___

Reveal all four words
  • BOTTOMS
  • JAR
  • PEPPER
  • TOWER

Each entry comes after "BELL" to form a word, expression or name: BOTTOMS → BELL BOTTOMS; JAR → BELL JAR; PEPPER → BELL PEPPER; TOWER → BELL TOWER.

Show categories only
  • Yellow: MESS (WITH)
  • Green: PARTS OF THE EAR
  • Blue: ___ BELL
  • Purple: BELL ___

Ready for the full solution?

All four categories and their words, together.

Reveal all four answers

Yellow

MESS (WITH)

FIDDLE · MEDDLE · TINKER · TRIFLE

Green

PARTS OF THE EAR

ANVIL · CANAL · DRUM · STIRRUP

Blue

___ BELL

DIVING · JINGLE · LIBERTY · TACO

Purple

BELL ___

BOTTOMS · JAR · PEPPER · TOWER

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.