Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle No. 868 for Sunday, Oct. 26.
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of “Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the ’70s and ’80s,” as well as “The Totally Sweet ’90s.” She’s been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She’s Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she’ll be first in line.
Expertise Breaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, and generational studies Credentials
- Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won “Headline Writer of the Year” award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
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Today’s NYT Connections puzzle has a diverse mix of topics. I laughed out loud at the green category. As a Gen Xer, I remember actually singing a song about that topic in music class back in the day. Today’s categories are not too tough, but if you need help, you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.
The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.
Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time
Hints for today’s Connections groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Music.
Green group hint: The Greatest.
Blue group hint: Time to compete.
Purple group hint: Teeny tiny.
Answers for today’s Connections groups
Yellow group: Kinds of instruments.
Green group: Words in a famous Muhammad Ali quote.
Blue group: Kinds of contests.
Purple group: Words with diminutive suffixes.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections answers?
The completed NYT Connections puzzle No. 868 for Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025.
NYT/Screenshot by CNETThe yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is kinds of instruments. The four answers are brass, percussion, string and wind.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is words in a famous Muhammad Ali quote. The four answers are bee, butterfly, float and sting.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is kinds of contests. The four answers are beauty, popularity, staring and talent.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is words with diminutive suffixes. The four answers are doggy, droplet, kitchenette and starling.
