Connections Hints October 8: Today’s NYT Clues and Answers for Puzzle #850

Looking for help with today’s Connections hints October 8? We’ve got you covered. Wednesday’s puzzle (#850) is live and, as usual, players are challenged to group 16 seemingly random words into four related categories. Below, we break down the hints, single-word reveals, and the full solution so you can keep your winning streak alive.

Today’s puzzle comes with some clever traps and a mix of pop culture, colors, and wordplay. The game launched at midnight local time on the New York Times Games platform.

Connections Hints October 8 – Full Word List

Here are today’s 16 words:

CREAM, ALTERNATIVE, PEARL, RIVER, BEST, EGGSHELL, OYSTER, GARAGE, NAIL, GLOSS, SELECT, ARENA, CLASSIC, ELITE, FLOWER, MATTE

Players had to identify the four groups, each containing four words. As always, the yellow category tends to be the easiest, while purple often relies on clever wordplay.

Step-by-Step Hints and Partial Reveals

Yellow group hint: Think of the theme song from Pokémon — “to be the very best.”

Green group hint: Styles of rock music, from grunge to yacht.

Blue group hint: Paint surface types like satin or flat.

Purple group hint: “Water,” “truck,” and “track” could fit here.

Single revealed words from each group to guide you: SELECT (yellow), GARAGE (green), EGGSHELL (blue), NAIL (purple).

Connections Answers for October 8 (#850)

Here is the full breakdown of today’s puzzle solution:

• Finest: BEST, CREAM, ELITE, SELECT
• Rock music subgenres: ALTERNATIVE, ARENA, CLASSIC, GARAGE
• Paint finishes: EGGSHELL, GLOSS, MATTE, PEARL
• Kinds of beds: FLOWER, NAIL, OYSTER, RIVER

The puzzle had some tricky overlaps. Words like CREAM and OYSTER could have misled players because both are also paint colors, but they didn’t belong in the finishes group. ALTERNATIVE and CLASSIC helped lock in the rock category, while BEST and ELITE made the “finest” group obvious.

Player Reactions and Puzzle Streaks

Many players found today’s puzzle fair but slightly misleading with the paint-related words. The rock genre set was straightforward once you spotted ALTERNATIVE. The “beds” group tripped some up — especially OYSTER, which refers to “oyster beds,” a term not everyone knows. Overall, this puzzle was easier than some past trick editions ending in “-50.”

Connections hints October 8 may help keep your streak alive, whether you’re chasing a reverse rainbow or just avoiding mistakes.

FYI (keeping you in the loop)-

Q1: What are today’s NYT Connections answers?

Finest (BEST, CREAM, ELITE, SELECT), Rock music subgenres (ALTERNATIVE, ARENA, CLASSIC, GARAGE), Paint finishes (EGGSHELL, GLOSS, MATTE, PEARL), Kinds of beds (FLOWER, NAIL, OYSTER, RIVER).

Q2: How many mistakes can you make in Connections?

You can guess incorrectly three times. The game ends on your fourth mistake.

Q3: What is the hardest group today?

The purple “beds” group was tricky, especially with OYSTER as a less common clue.

Q4: When does NYT Connections reset daily?

The puzzle resets at midnight local time each day on the NYT Games app and website.

Q5: What is a reverse rainbow in Connections?

It’s when you correctly guess purple, blue, green, and yellow groups in that order without mistakes.