NYT Connections Answers and Hints Guide Players Through Daily Word Puzzle

A new NYT Connections puzzle challenges players every single day. This word association game from The New York Times tests logic and vocabulary. Many players seek hints to solve the four color-coded categories. Today’s puzzle, #859 for October 17, 2025, is no exception.

The game presents a grid of 16 seemingly random words. The goal is to group them into four secret categories. Success requires finding the common thread that links each set of words together.

Today’s NYT Connections Categories Revealed

The four categories are color-coded by difficulty. Yellow is the easiest level. Green offers a moderate challenge. Blue is significantly tougher. Purple is the most difficult category to decipher.

According to The New York Times, today’s yellow group relates to presentation hardware. The green category involves a common type of souvenir. Blue focuses on characters found in classic fables. The tricky purple group uses specific meteorological terms.

Solving the October 17 NYT Connections Puzzle

For those who need the full solution, the answers are now available. The yellow group, “USED DURING A PRESENTATION,” includes CLICKER, LASER POINTER, PROJECTOR, and SLIDES. The green group, “ITEMS IN A SOUVENIR SHOP,” contains FIGURINE, KEY RING, MAGNET, and POSTCARD.

The blue group “FOLKTALE CHARACTERS” is solved with CHICKEN LITTLE, JACK, THUMBELINA, and TOM THUMB. Finally, the purple group “WEATHER TERMS” consists of BEAUFORT SCALE, DEWPOINT, HEAT INDEX, and WIND CHILL. This puzzle presented a fair challenge for regular players.

Mastering the daily NYT Connections requires a mix of broad knowledge and lateral thinking. The game continues to engage puzzle enthusiasts worldwide with its clever wordplay. Check back tomorrow for a fresh challenge and new solutions.

Info at your fingertips

What is the hardest category in NYT Connections?

The purple category is consistently the most difficult. It often involves wordplay, specialized knowledge, or very abstract themes that are hard to spot initially.

How many mistakes can you make in Connections?

Players are allowed only four mistakes. After the fourth incorrect guess, the game ends and reveals all the answers, so strategy is important.

Can you play old NYT Connections puzzles?

Yes, you can access previous puzzles through the official New York Times Connections archive. This allows you to practice and play games you may have missed.

What does “One Away” mean in the game?

The “One Away” message appears when you have three correct words in a group. It means you are very close, but one of your four selected words does not belong in that category.