Another day, another brain-teasing Connections puzzle from The New York Times! If you're staring at the 16 words for October 28, 2025 (puzzle #870) and feeling completely stumped, don't worry - we've got your back with strategic hints and the complete solution.
Today's Connections Challenge: What You're Facing
The October 28th edition presents another classic Connections setup with 16 seemingly random words that hide four clever categories. The goal remains the same: group these words into four sets of four based on their hidden connections. But today's puzzle has some particularly tricky relationships that might leave even seasoned players scratching their heads.
Strategic Hints to Get You Started
Before we reveal the complete solution, here are some progressive hints to help you solve today's Connections puzzle on your own:
Yellow Category (Easiest)
Think about things that come in sets or groups. This category relates to collective terms for specific items or concepts.
Green Category
Consider words that share a common suffix or ending pattern. These words transform into something else when you add the same letters.
Blue Category
Look for words that can be preceded by a specific body part. This category involves common phrases where these words follow a particular anatomical term.
Purple Category (Most Challenging)
Focus on words that can be combined with "house" to form compound words or phrases. This is the trickiest connection that requires thinking about word combinations.
The Complete Solution Revealed
Ready to put yourself out of your misery? Here are today's categories and their corresponding words:
🟨 Yellow Category: Collective Nouns
- PRIDE - As in lions
- SCHOOL - As in fish
- PACK - As in wolves
- HERD - As in cattle
🟩 Green Category: Words Ending with "ISH"
- CHILD - Becomes childish
- SELF - Becomes selfish
- FOOL - Becomes foolish
- BOOK - Becomes bookish
🟦 Blue Category: "FINGER" Phrases
- FOOD - Finger food
- PRINT - Fingerprint
- PAINT - Finger paint
- TIP - Fingertip
🟪 Purple Category: "HOUSE" Compounds
- WARE - Warehouse
- HOLD - Household
- BOAT - Houseboat
- WARM - Housewarming
Why Today's Puzzle Was Particularly Tricky
The October 28th Connections presented several challenges that made it more difficult than average. The "HOUSE" compounds category was especially clever, as these words aren't typically thought of as standing alone in this context. Meanwhile, the "FINGER" phrases category required thinking about common compound words rather than conceptual connections.
The green category with "-ISH" endings was a nice linguistic twist, playing with how we modify words to create adjectives. And the yellow category, while being the easiest, still required recalling specific collective nouns that might not be everyday vocabulary for all players.
Mastering Connections: Pro Tips
Want to improve your Connections game? Here are some strategies that can help:
- Look for obvious thematic groups first - Start with the clearest connections to build momentum
- Pay attention to word forms - Many puzzles play with suffixes, prefixes, or compound words
- Consider multiple meanings - Words often have secondary definitions that reveal the connection
- Don't force categories - If a group isn't working, step back and look for alternative connections
Whether you solved today's puzzle independently or needed a little help, remember that Connections is designed to challenge your vocabulary and pattern recognition skills. Every puzzle solved - with or without hints - is a win for your brain!
Come back tomorrow for another round of Connections hints and solutions. Happy puzzling!
