NYT Connections Hints October 23: Today’s Clues and Answers for Puzzle #865

The New York Times’ daily word game Connections has released its puzzle for Thursday, October 23, 2025, labeled #865. As always, players must find links between 16 words and organize them into four groups of four. Today’s puzzle blends easy synonyms, tricky phrases, and a bit of Olympic inspiration.

If you struggled to complete the grid or want to confirm your guesses, here are today’s full hints, categories, and solutions for NYT Connections #865.

Today’s NYT Connections Word List

Thursday’s puzzle features the following sixteen words:

DOGGY, FINE, PRIZE, SWAG, STONE, KITTY, BALL, DUCKY, BIRDIE, GO, SWELL, PURSE, MIXED, POT, PUCK, DANDY.

At first glance, several words appear linked by tone (like “DOGGY,” “KITTY,” and “DUCKY”), while others suggest money or sports themes. However, the key to solving today’s grid lies in spotting subtle connections rather than surface similarities.

Category Hints and One-Word Clues

To help players without spoiling the entire solution, here were the official hints provided for each color group:

• 🟨 Yellow group: Everything’s hunky-dory
• 🟩 Green group: Victor’s spoils
• 🟦 Blue group: Like foil, crampon, dinghy, and flag
• 🟪 Purple group: Dirt, flea, and dust would all fit here

Sample answers to get started included: FINE (yellow), POT (green), STONE (blue), and GO (purple).

NYT Connections October 23 Answers Revealed

After careful sorting, today’s full solutions are:

• 🟨 Yellow group — “Peachy”: DANDY, DUCKY, FINE, SWELL
• 🟩 Green group — “Winnings”: KITTY, POT, PRIZE, PURSE
• 🟦 Blue group — “Pieces of Olympic sports equipment”: BALL, BIRDIE, PUCK, STONE
• 🟪 Purple group — “_____ bag”: DOGGY, GO, MIXED, SWAG

Players who spotted “bag” early had an advantage in the purple group, where “DOGGY bag” and “SWAG bag” are common phrases. The blue set required more lateral thinking: STONE from curling, PUCK from hockey, BIRDIE from badminton, and BALL from numerous sports — all of which are Olympic disciplines.

How Today’s Puzzle Stood Out

October 23’s Connections leaned on classic wordplay. The “peachy” set tested knowledge of old-fashioned compliments, while “winnings” drew from gambling or prize money terminology. The “Olympic” set cleverly tied into sports equipment rather than players or rules. The “bag” group added a fun twist by using phrases that shared a common suffix rather than a theme of meaning.

Fans online noted that the combination of synonyms, slang, and idiomatic expressions made this puzzle more balanced than earlier in the week. As one player joked, “It was DANDY until I mixed up the SWAG.”

That wraps up today’s NYT Connections puzzle #865. Check back Friday for the next challenge, and remember: every incorrect guess brings you closer to the real connection — just look a little closer at the groove, as the author reminded readers.

FYI (keeping you in the loop)-

Q1: What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is a daily word association puzzle by The New York Times. Players must group 16 words into four connected sets based on shared meanings or phrases.

Q2: What are today’s NYT Connections categories?

Peachy, Winnings, Pieces of Olympic Sports Equipment, and “_____ Bag.”

Q3: Which word was the hardest today?

Many players found “STONE” tricky since its Olympic link to curling wasn’t immediately obvious.

Q4: When does NYT Connections reset daily?

The puzzle refreshes at midnight local time in the player’s timezone.

Q5: What streaks do players track?

Players can track consecutive wins and “reverse rainbows,” achieved by solving purple to yellow without mistakes.