Today’s puzzle has four hidden categories, and a few of them reward players who look past the obvious meaning of a word.
Some words seem to fit more than one group, so the right grouping can be hard to spot at first.
Use the hints below first, and check the full answers only when you’re ready for spoilers.
The New York Times Connections puzzle for October 31, 2026, asks players to divide 16 words into four groups of four based on hidden connections. Today’s categories are slang words for “good” that sound negative, martini orders, things with strings, and words that start with dog commands.
The board includes words that suggest false groupings, so it helps to be sure of a connection before you lock in a group.
STAYCATION
GUITAR
DIRTY
KILLER
SICK
DOWNFALL
SHAKEN
UP
TENNIS RACKET
SHAKESPEARE
WICKED
TASSEL
SITCOM
MARIONETTE
DRY
GNARLY
Use these clues for a nudge without seeing the answers:
Yellow group: Flipped meaning
Green group: Not stirred
Blue group: There are no ___ on me
Purple group: ___word
Yellow group: Words meaning good that sound bad
Green group: Martini specifications
Blue group: Things with strings
Purple group: Starting with dog commands
Yellow group: GNARLY, KILLER, SICK, WICKED
Green group: DIRTY, DRY, SHAKEN, UP
Blue group: GUITAR, MARIONETTE, TASSEL, TENNIS RACKET
Purple group: DOWNFALL, SHAKESPEARE, SITCOM, STAYCATION
The Purple group is the hardest. The NYT Connection is the first syllable of each word (STAY, DOWN, SHAKE, SIT), not its overall meaning, so none of these words look related on the surface.
SHAKEN is the main trap. It belongs in the Green martini group, but SHAKESPEARE, which starts with a dog command, sits close enough to pull you into the wrong group.
TASSEL is also easy to miss in the Blue group, since most players will think of strung items like a guitar or a racket before they think of a tassel.
Overall, the puzzle mixes everyday slang with wordplay, so you have to look past a word’s usual meaning before committing to a group.