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Connections October 31, 2026: Hints & Answers (#1324)

edited by Wyna Liu.

Recap

The groups were well-distributed in difficulty, from common phrases to more obscure connections. Solvers needed to think creatively about word meanings and object characteristics.

The sixteen tiles

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

STAYCATIONGUITARDIRTYKILLERSICKDOWNFALLSHAKENUPTENNIS RACKETSHAKESPEAREWICKEDTASSELSITCOMMARIONETTEDRYGNARLY

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
    Positive slang
    Green
    Cocktail details
    Blue
    Stringed items
    Purple
    Dog commands
  2. What linked each group, described

    Still no titles and no tiles named.

    Yellow group

    These words have good meanings but sound negative or unpleasant

    Green group

    These terms are used to customize a classic martini order

    Blue group

    These objects all have strings attached or are string instruments

    Purple group

    These phrases start with common commands given to dogs

  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. 1 of the sixteen tile was more than one word.

    Tiles
    16 across 4 groups
    Longest tile
    13 characters
    Shortest tile
    2 characters
    Multi-word tiles
    1
    Back to the sixteen tiles
  4. The trap on this board

    Which tiles pulled in two directions.

    Some cards could fit into multiple categories at first glance, be cautious with words that have multiple meanings or functions, like 'sick' or 'shaken'.

  5. The four category titles

    Half the answer.

    Yellow
    WORDS MEANING GOOD THAT SOUND BAD
    Green
    MARTINI SPECIFICATIONS
    Blue
    THINGS WITH STRINGS
    Purple
    STARTING WITH DOG COMMANDS
  6. One tile from each group

    The anchor most people misplaced, matched to its title.

    Yellow — WORDS MEANING GOOD THAT SOUND BAD
    GNARLY
    Green — MARTINI SPECIFICATIONS
    SHAKEN
    Blue — THINGS WITH STRINGS
    TENNIS RACKET
    Purple — STARTING WITH DOG COMMANDS
    SHAKESPEARE
    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

    WORDS MEANING GOOD THAT SOUND BAD

    GNARLY, KILLER, SICK, WICKED. The yellow group, 'WORDS MEANING GOOD THAT SOUND BAD', includes GNARLY, KILLER, SICK, WICKED.

  • Green group · 4 tiles

    MARTINI SPECIFICATIONS

    DIRTY, DRY, SHAKEN, UP. The green group, 'MARTINI SPECIFICATIONS', includes DIRTY, DRY, SHAKEN, UP.

  • Blue group · 4 tiles

    THINGS WITH STRINGS

    GUITAR, MARIONETTE, TASSEL, TENNIS RACKET. The blue group, 'THINGS WITH STRINGS', includes GUITAR, MARIONETTE, TASSEL, TENNIS RACKET.

  • Purple group · 4 tiles

    STARTING WITH DOG COMMANDS

    DOWNFALL, SHAKESPEARE, SITCOM, STAYCATION. The purple group, 'STARTING WITH DOG COMMANDS', includes DOWNFALL, SHAKESPEARE, SITCOM, STAYCATION.

This board by the numbers

Puzzle
(#1324) · Saturday, October 31, 2026
Tiles
16 in a 4 × 4 grid
Groups
4, yellow to purple
Multi-word tiles
1
Longest tile
TENNIS RACKET
Mistakes allowed
4 before the board locked

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