Welcome to another daily breakdown of the New York Times Connections puzzle. If you are hunting down the hints and answers for Wednesday, October 21, you have come to the right place.

For those unfamiliar, Connections is a daily digital word game featured on the New York Times website and official Games application. Players are presented with a 16-word grid consisting of phrases, terms, numbers, or symbols, with the objective of sorting them into four distinct categories of four items each.

Understanding the Mechanics of Connections

While the rules sound straightforward, the puzzle often features clever red herrings and tricky cross-overs. Only one precise combination solves the board. You are allowed up to three incorrect guesses before a fourth mistake ends the game.

Color coding indicates the relative difficulty of each category, moving from yellow as the most straightforward up to green, blue, and purple. Yellow and green groups typically rely on straightforward synonyms, whereas blue categories often center on cultural references, and purple groups heavily incorporate wordplay.

Today’s NYT Connections Word List

Here are the sixteen terms featured in today's grid:

  • ENGLISH HORN
  • LEAPFROG
  • ALPHA DOG
  • SWEETBREAD
  • HOT POTATO
  • MANTIS SHRIMP
  • SUNFLOWERS
  • BIG CHEESE
  • AMERICAN GOTHIC
  • GRAPE-NUTS
  • CAMPBELL’S SOUP CAN
  • DUCK DUCK GOOSE
  • TOP BANANA
  • THE SCREAM
  • MUSICAL CHAIRS
  • HEAVYWEIGHT

Today’s NYT Connections Hints

If you want a gentle nudge before seeing the full solutions, here are the clues for each category:

  • 🟨 Yellow group — party playtime
  • 🟩 Green group — of the 1%, perhaps
  • 🟦 Blue group — these could work on walls
  • 🟪 Purple group — not what they might appear to be at first (or second) glance

One Answer For Each NYT Connections Group

Spoiler warning ahead! Here is a single sample word belonging to each of the four categories:

  • 🟨 Yellow group — LEAPFROG
  • 🟩 Green group — HEAVYWEIGHT
  • 🟦 Blue group — CAMPBELL’S SOUP CAN
  • 🟪 Purple group — MANTIS SHRIMP

Today’s NYT Connections Categories

If you are ready to know the exact themes connecting the words, here are today's official categories:

  • 🟨 Yellow group — classic children’s games
  • 🟩 Green group — important person
  • 🟦 Blue group — famous paintings
  • 🟪 Purple group — double misnomers - neither word is an accurate description

Today’s Complete NYT Connections Answers

Consider this your final warning if you wish to solve the remaining items on your own. Here are the complete answers for today's grid:

  • 🟨 Yellow group — classic children’s games (DUCK DUCK GOOSE, HOT POTATO, LEAPFROG, MUSICAL CHAIRS)
  • 🟩 Green group — important person (ALPHA DOG, BIG CHEESE, HEAVYWEIGHT, TOP BANANA)
  • 🟦 Blue group — famous paintings (AMERICAN GOTHIC, CAMPBELL’S SOUP CAN, SUNFLOWERS, THE SCREAM)
  • 🟪 Purple group — double misnomers - neither word is an accurate description (ENGLISH HORN, GRAPE-NUTS, MANTIS SHRIMP, SWEETBREAD)

Today's puzzle offered an interesting mix. While entries like AMERICAN GOTHIC, DUCK DUCK GOOSE, and BIG CHEESE served as immediate giveaways for their respective groups, working through the remaining items required a bit more careful thought. Successfully solving the board pushed my personal win streak even higher.

Be sure to check back for tomorrow's hints and solutions if you need an extra edge on the next puzzle!