A little help. Your own aha.

Connections #1238
hints & answers for October 31, 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 31, 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 G, K, S and W. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

GNARLY belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

WORDS MEANING GOOD THAT SOUND BAD

Reveal all four words
  • GNARLY
  • KILLER
  • SICK
  • WICKED

Green group

A little trickier

2/4
First-letter clue

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

Show one word

DIRTY belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

MARTINI SPECIFICATIONS

Reveal all four words
  • DIRTY
  • DRY
  • SHAKEN
  • UP

Blue group

More challenging

3/4
First-letter clue

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

Show one word

GUITAR belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

THINGS WITH STRINGS

Reveal all four words
  • GUITAR
  • MARIONETTE
  • TASSEL
  • TENNIS RACKET

Purple group

Wordplay & surprises

4/4
First-letter clue

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

Show one word

DOWNFALL belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

STARTING WITH DOG COMMANDS

Reveal all four words
  • DOWNFALL
  • SHAKESPEARE
  • SITCOM
  • STAYCATION
Show categories only
  • Yellow: WORDS MEANING GOOD THAT SOUND BAD
  • Green: MARTINI SPECIFICATIONS
  • Blue: THINGS WITH STRINGS
  • Purple: STARTING WITH DOG COMMANDS

Ready for the full solution?

All four categories and their words, together.

Reveal all four answers

Yellow

WORDS MEANING GOOD THAT SOUND BAD

GNARLY · KILLER · SICK · WICKED

Green

MARTINI SPECIFICATIONS

DIRTY · DRY · SHAKEN · UP

Blue

THINGS WITH STRINGS

GUITAR · MARIONETTE · TASSEL · TENNIS RACKET

Purple

STARTING WITH DOG COMMANDS

DOWNFALL · SHAKESPEARE · SITCOM · STAYCATION

Other spelling matches on this board

No alternative four-entry spelling match was found by the anagram, palindrome, shared-start and shared-ending checks. Semantic overlaps may exist; these checks do not assess them.

These are checked spelling comparisons, not claims about the editor's intent or the most common player mistakes.

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.