Puzzle Overview
Here are today’s Connections hints and answers for NYT Connections No. 1,238 on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026.
Today’s Connections hints
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough and sometimes bizarre purple group.
Yellow group hint: Good or bad?
Green group hint: 007’s drink.
Blue group hint: Thin strands of fiber, twine or rope.
Purple group hint: Woof!
Solutions
Yellow group: Words meaning good that sound bad.
Green group: Martini specifications.
Blue group: Things with strings.
Purple group: Starting with dog commands.
CNET publishes daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is words meaning good that sound bad.
The four answers are gnarly, killer, sick and wicked.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is martini specifications.
The four answers are dirty, dry, shaken and up.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is things with strings.
The four answers are guitar, marionette, tassel and tennis racket.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is starting with dog commands.
The four answers are downfall, Shakespeare, sitcom and staycation.
Gameplay Guide
In Connections, you look at a grid of 16 words and pick four words that have a connection to one another. You do this four times until all 16 words in the puzzle are grouped. The tough part is that puzzle editor Wyna Liu chooses words that could fit in multiple groups. The obvious guess is almost always going to be wrong.
The Times features a Connections Bot to receive a numeric score and analyze answers. Registered players can also track their overall progress, including completion counts, win rates, and win streaks.
