NYT Connections #1226 for October 19, 2026, looks ready to split into easy piles—until a few words start pulling double duty. Today’s board rewards spotting what words mean and what they hide inside themselves.
There’s a clear way in, but the trickiest set turns familiar words into a sneaky word-ending hunt.
SPOILER WARNING: Hints and answers for today’s Connections are below.
Today’s NYT Connections words
Here are the 16 words on today’s board:
- MOHAWK | MUFFIN | HOT AIR | BALLOON
- RAVE | WIND | FLURRY | STEAM
- GAS | RIB | FUME | ALIBIS
- BOIL | BLATHER | ESCROW | NUGGETS
Today’s NYT Connections hints
Need a nudge without the full reveal? Try these:
- 🟡 Yellow: These are ways to express anger, or what anger can make you do.
- 🟢 Green: These words can describe speech that is long on noise and short on substance.
- 🔵 Blue: Look for four items that share a familiar fast-food prefix.
- 🟣 Purple: The words conceal bird names at their endings.
Today’s NYT Connections group titles
- 🟡 Yellow: SEETHE
- 🟢 Green: ALL TALK
- 🔵 Blue: “MC” THINGS AT MCDONALD’S
- 🟣 Purple: ENDING IN BIRDS
What are today’s NYT Connections answers?
Here are all four groups and their words:
| Colour | Group | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 🟡 Yellow | SEETHE | BOIL, FUME, RAVE, STEAM |
| 🟢 Green | ALL TALK | BLATHER, GAS, HOT AIR, WIND |
| 🔵 Blue | “MC” THINGS AT MCDONALD’S | FLURRY, MUFFIN, NUGGETS, RIB |
| 🟣 Purple | ENDING IN BIRDS | ALIBIS, BALLOON, ESCROW, MOHAWK |
Today’s Connections — expert analysis
The natural entry point is Yellow: BOIL, FUME and STEAM make a strong cluster, with RAVE completing the set. From there, watch for the board’s talk-and-air overlap. GAS, HOT AIR and WIND can all suggest empty talk, while STEAM and FUME also evoke things in the air; that makes it easy to pull a word from one group into the wrong pile.
Purple is the hardest set because its connection is tucked into the ends: ALIBIS contains ibis, BALLOON contains loon, ESCROW contains crow and MOHAWK contains hawk. If you’re stuck, spend your first safe guess on BOIL, FUME and STEAM, then check RAVE before committing. Keep HOT AIR and WIND for the talk group, and don’t let the food-sounding MUFFIN, NUGGETS and RIB distract you from the shared “MC” connection with FLURRY.
Difficulty: 3.5/5 — the bird names are hidden in word endings, while air-related decoys blur the middle of the board.
Yesterday’s NYT Connections answers (Game #1225)
Yesterday’s puzzle ranged from clothes storage to a hidden wordplay twist; here are the four groups:
- 🟡 Yellow (PLACES TO STORE CLOTHES): BUREAU, CHEST, TRUNK, WARDROBE
- 🟢 Green (THINGS THAT COME IN STICKS): BUTTER, DEODORANT, DYNAMITE, INCENSE
- 🔵 Blue (FAMOUS PERFUMES): ANGEL, COCO, OBSESSION, OPIUM
- 🟣 Purple (STARTING WITH THINGS THAT CLOUD THE AIR): FOGERTY, HAZEL, MISTER, VAPORETTO
What is NYT Connections?
Connections is a daily word puzzle in which you sort 16 words into four groups of four. Each group shares a connection, and the challenge is spotting it among the overlaps and decoys.
How to play NYT Connections
- Choose four words you think share a connection, then submit your group.
- Find all four groups of four; the groups are colour-coded by difficulty, from yellow through purple.
- Use your guesses carefully: a wrong submission counts as a mistake.
Past week’s NYT Connections answers
Missed a day? Full solutions from earlier this week, newest first.
Game #1224 — October 17
- 🟡 DIGITAL NOTIFICATIONS: ALERT, CHIME, DING, PING
- 🟢 PHOTO: PRINT, SHOT, SNAP, STILL
- 🔵 KINDS OF CRABS: FIDDLER, HERMIT, KING, SNOW
- 🟣 LA ___: BOHÈME, BREA, PAZ, SCALA
Game #1223 — October 16
- 🟡 SURFACE IMPERFECTIONS: CHIP, MARK, NICK, SCRATCH
- 🟢 LANDLOCKED COUNTRIES: CHAD, HUNGARY, LAOS, PARAGUAY
- 🔵 EUROPEAN COUNTRIES MINUS A LETTER: BULGARI, CYRUS, HUNGRY, SPAN
- 🟣 STARTING WITH WORDS FOR “STYLISH”: CHICKEN, COOLIDGE, HIPPO, SMARTIES
Game #1222 — October 15
- 🟡 WAYS TO PRESERVE FOOD: CURE, DRY, PICKLE, SMOKE
- 🟢 THINGS YOU CAN SCORE IN SPORTS: BASKET, GOAL, RUN, TOUCHDOWN
- 🔵 LOWEST PART: BASE, BOTTOM, FOOT, FOUNDATION
- 🟣 LOW LANDFORMS WITH A LETTER CHANGED: CANNON, FORGE, RACINE, VOLLEY
Game #1221 — October 14
- 🟡 HINT: FLICKER, SUGGESTION, TRACE, WHIFF
- 🟢 TENNIS SHOTS: SERVE, SLICE, SMASH, VOLLEY
- 🔵 SUPERHEROES, WITH “THE”: FLASH, HULK, PUNISHER, THING
- 🟣 STARTING WITH “FEE, FI, FO, FUM”: FEED, FIERY, FOMENT, FUMBLE
Game #1220 — October 13
- 🟡 DISCERNMENT: EYE, FLAIR, SENSE, TASTE
- 🟢 FASTEN: HITCH, LASH, TETHER, TIE
- 🔵 SPORTS CHAMPIONSHIP PRIZES: BELT, CUP, JACKET, RING
- 🟣 LOOSE ___: CANNON, CHANGE, ENDS, LIPS
Game #1219 — October 12
- 🟡 STATUS: CONDITION, SHAPE, SITUATION, STATE
- 🟢 TOLERATE: BEAR, HANDLE, STAND, WEATHER
- 🔵 WORD SHORTENINGS, OFTEN: ABBREVIATION, CONTRACTION, ELISION, NICKNAME
- 🟣 WORDS MADE USING U.S. POSTAL ABBREVIATIONS: ALKYLAMIDE, CALAMARI, MANDARIN, MELAMINE
More daily puzzle help from HashTechWave
- Today’s NYT Strands hints, spangram and answers
- Today’s NYT Spelling Bee answers and pangram
- Today’s Wordle hints, clues and answer
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What time does a new NYT Connections puzzle unlock?
A brand-new puzzle drops every single night at midnight local time across your specific region’s time zone on NYT Connection official site.
Why do some words seem to fit into two different groups?
The puzzle is specifically designed to include “decoys” or overlapping vocabulary. Always look for a backup configuration of words before locking in an early guess to protect your attempt counter.
Can I review answers to older puzzles?
Yes — we keep the past week of solutions right here on this page. Scroll up to the “Past week’s NYT Connections answers” section for every recent grid, newest first, plus a full breakdown of yesterday’s puzzle.
