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Connections October 20, 2026: Hints & Answers (#1328)

edited by Wyna Liu.

Recap

The puzzle required grouping words based on their meanings and associations. Solvers had to distinguish between different categories, including words for finishing, types of servants, mustache styles, and homophones of Disney characters.

The sixteen tiles

The sixteen tiles as dealt. Reveal a group below to tint and caption its tiles here.

CHEVRONDOCKBELLPENCILPOODLEWRAPMINIMINIONWALRUSPUPPETCLOSEHORSESHOEARIALSTOPSTOOGEEND

Connections hints, one rung at a time

Six rungs, softest first. The recap above already named the groups, so this ladder is here for anyone replaying the board fresh rather than as a spoiler shield.

  1. Four one-line nudges, one per group

    The softest hint there is.

    Yellow
    Last part
    Green
    Servant types
    Blue
    Facial hair
    Purple
    Sound alike
  2. What linked each group, described

    Still no titles and no tiles named.

    Yellow group

    These words all relate to the final stage or conclusion of something.

    Green group

    These words describe individuals who serve or are controlled by others.

    Blue group

    These words are names of styles or shapes associated with facial hair, particularly on the upper lip.

    Purple group

    These words sound like names of famous characters from a certain entertainment company.

  3. Board facts

    Counted off the sixteen printed tiles.

    Sixteen tiles, four groups of four, ordered yellow → green → blue → purple from most to least obvious. Every tile was a single word.

    Tiles
    16 across 4 groups
    Longest tile
    9 characters
    Shortest tile
    3 characters
    Multi-word tiles
    0
    Back to the sixteen tiles
  4. The trap on this board

    Which tiles pulled in two directions.

    Some cards could fit into more than one group, especially those with multiple meanings or uses. Be cautious with words that have different contexts.

  5. The four category titles

    Half the answer.

    Yellow
    FINISH
    Green
    LACKEY
    Blue
    MUSTACHES
    Purple
    HOMOPHONES OF DISNEY CHARACTERS
  6. One tile from each group

    The anchor most people misplaced, matched to its title.

    Yellow — FINISH
    WRAP
    Green — LACKEY
    STOOGE
    Blue — MUSTACHES
    WALRUS
    Purple — HOMOPHONES OF DISNEY CHARACTERS
    BELL
    Open the full groupings

Every Connections group from that board

All four groups, folded. Opening one tints its four tiles above and captions them with the category name.

  • Yellow group · 4 tiles

    FINISH

    CLOSE, END, STOP, WRAP. The yellow group, 'FINISH', consists of 'CLOSE', 'END', 'STOP', and 'WRAP', all of which relate to concluding or finalizing something.

  • Green group · 4 tiles

    LACKEY

    MINION, POODLE, PUPPET, STOOGE. The green group, 'LACKEY', includes 'MINION', 'POODLE', 'PUPPET', and 'STOOGE', describing types of servants or those under control.

  • Blue group · 4 tiles

    MUSTACHES

    CHEVRON, HORSESHOE, PENCIL, WALRUS. The blue group, 'MUSTACHES', comprises 'CHEVRON', 'HORSESHOE', 'PENCIL', and 'WALRUS', which are styles or shapes of mustaches.

  • Purple group · 4 tiles

    HOMOPHONES OF DISNEY CHARACTERS

    ARIAL, BELL, DOCK, MINI. The purple group, 'HOMOPHONES OF DISNEY CHARACTERS', features 'ARIAL', 'BELL', 'DOCK', and 'MINI', words that sound like Disney character names.

This board by the numbers

Puzzle
(#1328) · Tuesday, October 20, 2026
Tiles
16 in a 4 × 4 grid
Groups
4, yellow to purple
Multi-word tiles
0
Longest tile
HORSESHOE
Mistakes allowed
4 before the board locked

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