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Connections October 25, 2026: Hints & Answers (#1343)

edited by Wyna Liu.

Recap

The groups were well-distributed in difficulty, from actions like taking something quickly to specific pasta shapes and fictional characters, and finally to items that can make a snapping sound.

The sixteen tiles

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

GLOW STICKWAGON WHEELPOCKETFOOTBALLTHUMBELBOWSWIFTFINGERSSHELLPALMRUBBER BANDBOW TIESAWYERSWIPERIPLEYBOOST

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
    Quick take
    Green
    Food shapes
    Blue
    Famous names
    Purple
    Breaking things
  2. What linked each group, described

    Still no titles and no tiles named.

    Yellow group

    Actions that involve taking something quickly or secretly

    Green group

    Common shapes of a popular Italian dish

    Blue group

    Characters from literature and film with a specific first name

    Purple group

    Objects or body parts that can break or be broken with a sharp sound

  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. 4 of the sixteen tiles were more than one word.

    Tiles
    16 across 4 groups
    Longest tile
    11 characters
    Shortest tile
    4 characters
    Multi-word tiles
    4
    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 that can be related to multiple concepts, like actions or objects.

  5. The four category titles

    Half the answer.

    Yellow
    STEAL
    Green
    PASTA SHAPES
    Blue
    FICTIONAL TOMS
    Purple
    THINGS THAT CAN BE SNAPPED
  6. One tile from each group

    The anchor most people misplaced, matched to its title.

    Yellow — STEAL
    POCKET
    Green — PASTA SHAPES
    WAGON WHEEL
    Blue — FICTIONAL TOMS
    THUMB
    Purple — THINGS THAT CAN BE SNAPPED
    GLOW STICK
    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

    STEAL

    BOOST, PALM, POCKET, SWIPE. The yellow group, 'STEAL', includes BOOST, PALM, POCKET, and SWIPE, all related to quick or secretive taking.

  • Green group · 4 tiles

    PASTA SHAPES

    BOW TIE, ELBOW, SHELL, WAGON WHEEL. The green group, 'PASTA SHAPES', consists of BOW TIE, ELBOW, SHELL, and WAGON WHEEL, which are all shapes of pasta.

  • Blue group · 4 tiles

    FICTIONAL TOMS

    RIPLEY, SAWYER, SWIFT, THUMB. The blue group, 'FICTIONAL TOMS', comprises RIPLEY, SAWYER, SWIFT, and THUMB, characters with the first name Tom from fiction.

  • Purple group · 4 tiles

    THINGS THAT CAN BE SNAPPED

    FINGERS, FOOTBALL, GLOW STICK, RUBBER BAND. The purple group, 'THINGS THAT CAN BE SNAPPED', includes FINGERS, FOOTBALL, GLOW STICK, and RUBBER BAND, all of which can be snapped.

This board by the numbers

Puzzle
(#1343) · Sunday, October 25, 2026
Tiles
16 in a 4 × 4 grid
Groups
4, yellow to purple
Multi-word tiles
4
Longest tile
WAGON WHEEL
Mistakes allowed
4 before the board locked

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