TodayHint

Connections October 8, 2026: Hints & Answers (#1322)

edited by Wyna Liu.

Recap

The groups were about following rules, outdoing others, sets of three, and phrases ending with famous actor names.

The sixteen tiles

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

FOOLHARDYMINDSTHANKSSTOOGESBESTWISHESREGARDSECLIPSECHEERSMULHOLLANDRESPECTSSTRIKESTOPAUTOCRUISEHEEDSSURPASS

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
    Obeys
    Green
    Outshine
    Blue
    Trio concepts
    Purple
    Ends with Tom
  2. What linked each group, described

    Still no titles and no tiles named.

    Yellow group

    Verbs meaning to pay attention to rules

    Green group

    Verbs meaning to be better than others

    Blue group

    Common phrases or terms that are sets of three

    Purple group

    Phrases or words ending with famous actor names

  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
    10 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 multiple categories, be cautious with CHEERS, STOOGES, and WISHES, as they relate to groups or common expressions, and consider how they might be confused with other groups.

  5. The four category titles

    Half the answer.

    Yellow
    FOLLOWS, AS RULES
    Green
    OUTDO
    Blue
    THINGS THAT COME IN THREES
    Purple
    ENDING IN ACTORS NAMED TOM
  6. One tile from each group

    The anchor most people misplaced, matched to its title.

    Yellow — FOLLOWS, AS RULES
    REGARDS
    Green — OUTDO
    ECLIPSE
    Blue — THINGS THAT COME IN THREES
    STRIKES
    Purple — ENDING IN ACTORS NAMED TOM
    MULHOLLAND
    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

    FOLLOWS, AS RULES

    HEEDS, MINDS, REGARDS, RESPECTS. The yellow group is 'FOLLOWS, AS RULES' with the cards HEEDS, MINDS, REGARDS, RESPECTS.

  • Green group · 4 tiles

    OUTDO

    BEST, ECLIPSE, SURPASS, TOP. The green group is 'OUTDO' with the cards BEST, ECLIPSE, SURPASS, TOP.

  • Blue group · 4 tiles

    THINGS THAT COME IN THREES

    CHEERS, STOOGES, STRIKES, WISHES. The blue group is 'THINGS THAT COME IN THREES' with the cards CHEERS, STOOGES, STRIKES, WISHES.

  • Purple group · 4 tiles

    ENDING IN ACTORS NAMED TOM

    AUTOCRUISE, FOOLHARDY, MULHOLLAND, THANKS. The purple group is 'ENDING IN ACTORS NAMED TOM' with the cards AUTOCRUISE, FOOLHARDY, MULHOLLAND, THANKS.

This board by the numbers

Puzzle
(#1322) · Thursday, October 8, 2026
Tiles
16 in a 4 × 4 grid
Groups
4, yellow to purple
Multi-word tiles
0
Longest tile
AUTOCRUISE
Mistakes allowed
4 before the board locked

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