NYT Connections Hints October 14 2025: Full Puzzle Guide and Answers for #856

NYT Connections puzzle #856 for October 14, 2025, is live — and it’s a tricky one. Today’s edition tests your wordplay and lateral thinking skills with clever categories, including a purple group that asks you to drop the first letter from animal names. If you’re stuck on any group, we’ve broken down all the hints and answers you need below.

The Connections puzzle, a popular daily word game from The New York Times, challenges players to group 16 words into four thematic categories. It’s known for its escalating difficulty, from the straightforward yellow group to the often head-scratching purple one. Here’s a full breakdown of today’s puzzle, including group hints, solutions, and key explanations.

Today’s NYT Connections Hints for October 14, 2025

If you’re still working through the puzzle and don’t want the answers just yet, start with these hints. They’ll guide you toward the right categories without giving too much away.

• Yellow group hint: Dazzle, entrance.
• Green group hint: Short version.
• Blue group hint: Stop!
• Purple group hint: Not humans — and remove one letter.

The yellow and green categories are fairly direct today, but the blue group may cause second guesses with similar-sounding words. As for the purple, you’ll need to think creatively — each answer is an animal’s name with its first letter removed.

NYT Connections Answers and Explanations for October 14, 2025 (#856)

Here’s the full solution breakdown for today’s puzzle, including each group’s theme and its four correct words.

🟡 Yellow Group – Captivate

The theme here is all about holding attention or fascination. The four correct answers are:

• Absorb
• Engage
• Hold
• Occupy

Each of these words describes a way to capture someone’s interest or focus — a straightforward and classic Connections category.

🟢 Green Group – Summary

This set deals with brief overviews and condensed forms of information. The correct answers are:

• Brief
• Digest
• Outline
• Review

They’re all synonyms or near-synonyms for summarizing or distilling information, often used in academic, journalistic, or professional contexts.

🔵 Blue Group – Halt

The theme here is about stopping or slowing something down. The correct answers are:

• Check
• Curb
• Staunch
• Stem

Each term refers to preventing or reducing something — from controlling behavior to halting the flow of liquid or momentum.

🟣 Purple Group – Animals Minus Starting Letter

This is the trickiest category of the day. The key is to add a missing letter to reveal an animal name:

• Anther → Panther
• Easel → Weasel
• Hark → Shark
• Lama → Llama

This wordplay-heavy set stumps many players, but once you realize the missing letter reveals animal names, the puzzle clicks into place.

What Makes Today’s Puzzle Tricky

While the yellow and green categories are classic Connections fare, today’s puzzle adds a clever twist with the purple group. It demands not only vocabulary knowledge but also flexible thinking — you must notice that the provided words become animals when you add a letter at the start.

This type of puzzle highlights what makes Connections popular: it’s not just about knowing words but spotting patterns. It’s also why the purple group frequently frustrates even experienced players — it pushes you beyond obvious word associations.

In summary, NYT Connections #856 (October 14, 2025) balances straightforward categories with a brain-teasing purple twist, rewarding careful observation and creative thinking.

FYI (keeping you in the loop)-

Q1: What is the yellow group answer for NYT Connections October 14, 2025?

The yellow group is “Captivate,” with the words absorb, engage, hold, and occupy.

Q2: What is the most difficult group in today’s puzzle?

The purple group is the toughest, requiring you to add a missing first letter to reveal animal names.

Q3: What is the theme of the green group in today’s NYT Connections?

The green group is “Summary,” including brief, digest, outline, and review.

Q4: What is the theme of the blue group in today’s puzzle?

The blue group is “Halt,” including check, curb, staunch, and stem.

Q5: What does “Anther” stand for in today’s puzzle?

“Anther” becomes “Panther” when you add the missing letter P.