If you’re having trouble knocking down the categories in today’s Connections grid, we’re here to help you out. We’ll get you started with some spoiler-free hints to nudge you in the direction of the answers. Then, we’ll give you one word from each group, followed by the list of themes. Finally, we will reveal the answers and their explanations. So, without further ado, here are all the hints, clues, and answers to today’s NYT Connections (#1,221, October 14, 2026).
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In This Article
What is Connections?
After Wordle, Connections is the New York Times’ most popular word game. The rules are simple. You need to find words with a common theme and group them into 4 groups of 4. The 16-word grid is designed with an increasing level of difficulty. The Yellow group is the easiest to spot, followed by Green, Blue, and Purple. The misdirects and red herrings can trip you up, but they also make the puzzle more fun. You can play Connections in the NYT Games app or on the NYT website.
Some tips to solve Connections
Look for the obvious patterns: Not every category in the puzzle is confusing. The Yellow and Green category words are relatively easy to spot. However, if something seems too obvious, it could be a red herring. Typically, the first two categories comprise verbs and adjectives. The misdirects are often nouns.
Double-check your submissions: ‘Do not overthink’ is usually a good tip for solving most puzzles, but it doesn’t really apply to Connections. Before submitting a set of words, you should always check whether they fit somewhere else too.
Hit a dead end? Use the shuffle button: The shuffle button at the bottom of the grid exists for a reason. Placing the words in different positions can spark new connections. Think of it as a mental refresh. New patterns will emerge, and you may be able to find a breakthrough.
Tackle the Purple category with extra caution: The Connections team is known to serve up the toughest and most unexpected words for the Purple category. Here are some of the common tropes that you should look out for:
- Homophones (For example: ‘Where’, ‘Wear’, ‘Ware’, and ‘Weir’)
- Words within words (For example: ‘Slip’, ‘Hear’, ‘Keyes’, and ‘Undiagnosed’ could be ‘Words containing parts of the face’)
- Words minus a letter (For example: ‘Anther’, ‘Easel’, ‘Hark’, and ‘Lama’ could be ‘Animals minus starting letter’)
- Words preceded or followed by another word (For example: ‘Face’, ‘Sports’, ‘Note’, and ‘Year’ could be ‘____ Book’)
Here’s your grid for today
- FEED
- THING
- SERVE
- SUGGESTION
- FIERY
- FLICKER
- FLASH
- FOMENT
- SMASH
- HULK
- TRACE
- FUMBLE
- SLICE
- WHIFF
- VOLLEY
- PUNISHER
Hints for NYT Connections (#1,221) October 14, 2026
Let’s get you started with some general, spoiler-free hints.
- 🟡Yellow Group: Clue.
- 🟢Green Group: Shots that are played on grass, clay, and hard courts.
- 🔵Blue Group: DC and Marvel protagonists.
- 🟣Purple Group: Starting with parts of the famous quatrain from ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’.
One Word Per Category (Contains Spoilers)
Can’t seem to find an in? We’ll give you one word from each category.
- 🟡Yellow Group: Flicker.
- 🟢Green Group: Serve.
- 🔵Blue Group: Flash.
- 🟣Purple Group: Feed.
List of Themes (Major Spoilers)
Maybe getting to know the common themes among the words will help you spot them faster. Here are all the categories for today.
- 🟡Yellow Group: Hint.
- 🟢Green Group: Tennis Shots.
- 🔵Blue Group: Superheroes, With ‘The’.
- 🟣Purple Group: Starting With Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum.
Answers to NYT Connections (#1,221) Today (October 14, 2026)
Close to waving the white flag? Fine, we’ll give you the answers.
- 🟡Yellow Group: Flicker, Suggestion, Trace, Whiff. (Hint)
A clue, inkling, or indication can be described by these words.
- 🟢Green Group: Serve, Slice, Smash, Volley. (Tennis Shots)
This one is pretty self-explanatory. These are the acceptable forms of shots you can play in tennis.
- 🔵Blue Group: Flash, Hulk, Punisher, Thing. (Superheroes, With ‘The’)
These are all superheroes from DC and Marvel franchises.
- 🟣Purple Group: Feed, Fiery, Foment, Fumble. (Starting With Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum)
The giant’s chant in Jack and the Beanstalk starts with ‘Fee-fi-fo-fum’.
Answers to yesterday’s puzzle (#1,220, October 13, 2026)
- 🟡Yellow Group: Eye, Flair, Sense, Taste. (Discernment)
- 🟢Green Group: Hitch, Lash, Tether, Tie. (Fasten)
- 🔵Blue Group: Belt, Cup, Jacket, Ring. (Sport Championship Prizes)
- 🟣Purple Group: Cannon, Change, Ends, Lips. (Loose ___)
Answers to NYT Connections #1,219 (October 12, 2026)
- 🟡Yellow Group: Condition, Shape, Situation, State. (Status)
- 🟢Green Group: Bear, Handle, Stand, Weather. (Tolerate)
- 🔵Blue Group: Abbreviation, Contraction, Elision, Nickname. (Word Shortenings, Often)
- 🟣Purple Group: Alkylamide, Calamari, Mandarin, Melamine. (Words Made Using U.S. Postal Abbreviations)
Answers to NYT Connections #1,218 (October 12, 2026)
- 🟡Yellow Group: Apply, Harness, Utilize, Wield. (Put To Use)
- 🟢Green Group: Cable, Electricity, Internet, Phone. (Monthly Bills)
- 🔵Blue Group: Gloves, Ice Scraper, Map, Registration. (Things You Might Find In A Glove Compartment)
- 🟣Purple Group: Employ, Patrick, Peruse, Syntactic. (Ending In Gambits)
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How did other solvers do today?
NYT’s early testers rated today’s Connections puzzle 2.5 out of 5. This puts it in the hard difficulty level. Let us know how you fared in the comments!
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