If today’s New York Times Connections grid has you feeling puzzled, you are not alone. Puzzle #1220 offers some tricky pairings that might seem obvious at first but lead you in the wrong direction. Here is what you need to know.
Here are helpful hints to guide you through today’s puzzle, with the full answers listed further down.
Today’s Connections Strategy & Commentary
Watch out for the red herrings today. At first glance, Eye and Taste could seem like they belong together as body parts, while Cup and Belt might look like accessories. Take a moment to think about the broader meaning of each word rather than just surface connections.
Ask yourself whether words describe an ability to judge or notice something, mean to securely attach one thing to another, are common awards given in competitions, or complete a phrase starting with the word loose. Thinking about how each word pairs with a hidden keyword will help you sort them correctly.
Connections Hints Today: Category Clues
If you just need a nudge to get your brain moving in the right direction, here are clues for the four color-coded groups:
- 🟨 Yellow Group Hint: Words that describe the ability to judge, notice, or understand something well.
- 🟩 Green Group Hint: Verbs that mean to attach or hold something firmly in place.
- 🟦 Blue Group Hint: Items often awarded as prizes in sports competitions.
- 🟪 Purple Group Hint: Each word completes the phrase Loose ___.
Stuck on one word? If you have Tether, think about what you do with it, it fits the Green group today. For the Purple group, try saying Loose followed by each word and see which ones make a common phrase.
Here is our result for today’s puzzle:
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟩🟪🟩🟦
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟦🟦🟦🟪
🟪🟦🟦🟦
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟪🟪🟪🟪
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: The full answers are listed below. If you still want to solve the grid yourself using the clues above, do not scroll down.
NYT Connections Answers Today for October 13, 2026 (Puzzle #1220)
Here are the completed categories and groupings for today’s puzzle:
🟨 Yellow Category: Discernment
- Eye
- Flair
- Sense
- Taste
🟩 Green Category: Fasten
- Hitch
- Lash
- Tether
- Tie
🟦 Blue Category: Sports Championship Prizes
- Belt
- Cup
- Jacket
- Ring
🟪 Purple Category: Loose ___
- Cannon
- Change
- Ends
- Lips
Yesterday’s Answer
This is yesterday’s NYT Connections answer for October 12, 2026 (Puzzle #1219).
🟨 Yellow Category: Calm. Content, Peaceful, Placid, Serene
🟩 Green Category: Adjectives For Mature Content. Explicit, Graphic, Strong, Suggestive
🟦 Blue Category: Kinds Of Boards. Advisory, Chess, Ironing, Message
🟪 Purple Category: Ending In Ways To Temporarily Acquire. Parent, Please, Sapphire, Sloan
For older solutions, see our Connections answers archive.
How did you do?
Did today’s puzzle give you a perfect solve or did the tricky categories take extra tries? Share your results grid in the comments below.
A new puzzle becomes available every midnight based on your local time zone through the official NYT Connections page. It appears at different times around the world including United States UTC-4 to UTC-8, Philippine Standard Time UTC+8, Australia UTC+8 to UTC+11, and New Zealand UTC+12 or UTC+13.
Check back tomorrow for more Connections hints, strategy tips, and the next answer.
Discover more from wazzuptechph
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
