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Puzzle #1,230

Connections Hint

Friday, October 23, 2026

Spoiler-safe hints for NYT Connections. One nudge per group, then the four category names, then the full answer.

Spoiler-safe. Nothing is revealed until you tap it.

Today's 16 words

the grid, ungrouped
DIRECTFRANKOPENVOCALDRIVEREXTENSIONPLUGINUPDATEDISTANCEFORCEPOWERTIMEDOUBLELOVEPHONESPINAL

Hints by group

reveal only what you need
Yellow groupeasiest
See a hint
One answer is VOCAL
See the category
FORTHRIGHT
See the 4 words
DIRECT, FRANK, OPEN, VOCAL
Green groupmedium
See a hint
One answer is UPDATE
See the category
THINGS YOU INSTALL ON A COMPUTER
See the 4 words
DRIVER, EXTENSION, PLUGIN, UPDATE
Blue grouptricky
See a hint
One answer is TIME
See the category
QUANTITIES IN A FORMULA FOR POWER
See the 4 words
DISTANCE, FORCE, POWER, TIME
Purple grouphardest
See a hint
One answer is SPINAL
See the category
___ TAP
See the 4 words
DOUBLE, LOVE, PHONE, SPINAL

The whole solution

Reveal all four groups
FORTHRIGHTYellow
DIRECT, FRANK, OPEN, VOCAL
THINGS YOU INSTALL ON A COMPUTERGreen
DRIVER, EXTENSION, PLUGIN, UPDATE
QUANTITIES IN A FORMULA FOR POWERBlue
DISTANCE, FORCE, POWER, TIME
___ TAPPurple
DOUBLE, LOVE, PHONE, SPINAL

How to use today's hints

Every group on this page sits behind its own tap, so nothing is spoiled before you ask for it. Open See a hint first — it gives you one answer, or the letters the four words begin with, which is usually enough to see where a category is heading. Only open the category name if that fails, and the four words only if you have given up on that group.

Start with yellow, finish with purple

The New York Times ranks the four groups by difficulty: yellow, green, blue, purple. Yellow is the plainest category on the board, and pulling it out takes away four words that were making everything else look ambiguous. Purple is where the wordplay lives — hidden letters, words that only work inside a phrase, a category that turns out to be about categories. Leave it until last and it often solves itself.

Two mistakes worth avoiding

Do not commit to a group just because all four words fit. Connections is built around words that belong to two categories at once, and the editor puts them there deliberately. And when the game tells you that you are one away, do not fire back immediately — change the word you are least sure about, not the one you like most.

Connections Game is an independent fan resource. Connections is created and owned by The New York Times.