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The New York Times Connections puzzle for Monday, October 26, 2026, is game #1233. Players must divide 16 words into four groups of four based on a shared connection.
Today's board includes WELCOME, HALLOWEEK, CHILLING, TOY, YOGA, JAWN, SPORTING, PRAYER, PSYCHS, HOUND, MANAGING, WRESTLING, SAME OLD, HOSTED, HERDING and NOT BAD.
The four categories involve responses to a common question, types of mats, American Kennel Club dog breed groups and horror movie titles with their final letters changed.
Today's NYT Connections puzzle is game #1233, released on Monday, October 26, 2026. The puzzle asks players to sort 16 words into four groups based on shared connections, ranging from everyday conversation to clever wordplay. Below are the hints, categories and complete answers, with spoilers clearly marked.
If you need help solving the puzzle, start with these category clues before checking the complete answers.
Yellow Group: Different ways to respond when someone asks how you are doing.
Green Group: Different types of floor coverings used for specific activities or purposes.
Blue Group: Four classifications used by the American Kennel Club for dog breeds.
Purple Group: Horror movie titles that have been altered by changing their final letters.
These clues offer a starting point without revealing every word. Try identifying the easiest connection first, then use the remaining words to solve the more challenging groups.
If the category hints are not enough, the following words can help you get started.
Yellow Group: MANAGING
Green Group: PRAYER
Blue Group: HERDING
Purple Group: HOSTED
Look for three other words that fit each clue. Remember that every group must contain exactly four words, and a word's obvious meaning may not be the connection intended by the puzzle.
The four categories for NYT Connections #1233 are:
Yellow Group: Responses to “How are you?”
Green Group: Kinds of mats
Blue Group: American Kennel Club dog breed groups
Purple Group: Horror movies with the last letter changed
The yellow group includes familiar conversational replies. The green group connects words associated with mats used for prayer, welcoming visitors, wrestling and yoga. The blue group uses recognized dog breed classifications, while the purple group depends on recognizing altered horror movie titles.
Warning: Spoilers ahead. The complete solutions for Connections #1233 appear below. Stop reading if you want to finish the puzzle independently.
CHILLING
MANAGING
NOT BAD
SAME OLD
These expressions can be used to answer a casual question about how someone is feeling or how life is going. The responses range from saying things are going reasonably well to suggesting that little has changed.
PRAYER
WELCOME
WRESTLING
YOGA
Each word describes a type of mat associated with a particular activity or purpose. Prayer mats are used during prayer, welcome mats are placed at entrances, wrestling mats provide a surface for the sport, and yoga mats support exercise and stretching.
HERDING
HOUND
SPORTING
TOY
These are four of the American Kennel Club's recognized dog breed groups. Herding dogs are associated with managing livestock, hounds are traditionally linked to hunting, sporting breeds often assist hunters, and toy breeds are generally smaller companion dogs.
HALLOWEEK
HOSTED
JAWN
PSYCHS
This is the puzzle's trickiest category because the words refer to altered movie titles rather than their usual meanings. HALLOWEEK changes the final letter of Halloween, HOSTED changes the ending of Hostel, JAWN changes the final letter of Jaws, and PSYCHS changes the ending of Psycho.
The connection becomes clearer when players consider the original horror film titles. Looking at each word as a possible movie reference helps reveal the intended pattern.
Today's puzzle combines conversational expressions, everyday objects, dog classifications and film references. The yellow group may be easier to recognize, while the other categories require more specific knowledge or a different way of looking at the words.
The green group can initially seem confusing because prayer, welcome, wrestling and yoga describe different activities. The shared connection appears when players think about the mats associated with each one.
The blue group requires familiarity with dog breed classifications. Players may recognize words such as HOUND and TOY without immediately realising that HERDING and SPORTING belong to the same classification system.
The purple group is particularly challenging because the answers are not the original movie titles. Each word contains a small change at the end, making it easy to overlook the connection if you focus only on the words as written.
Connections is a daily word game from The New York Times. Players receive a grid of 16 words and must arrange them into four groups of four that share a common connection.
Each group is represented by a color indicating its relative difficulty:
Yellow: Usually the most straightforward category.
Green: Often requires a little more thought.
Blue: Can depend on specific knowledge or less obvious associations.
Purple: Frequently involves wordplay, unusual meanings or hidden patterns.
Players select four words and submit their guess. Correct groups are removed from the board, while incorrect guesses count towards the mistake limit. Players can make up to four mistakes before the game ends.
A useful strategy is to identify obvious connections first and check whether any of the words could fit more than one category. Avoid submitting a group too quickly, especially when several words appear to share a broad theme.
Today's puzzle rewards players who recognize common expressions and familiar objects while also drawing on knowledge of dog classifications and classic horror films.
After completing Connections, players can explore other New York Times games, including Wordle, Strands and the Mini Crossword.
Each game offers a different challenge, from guessing a hidden word to finding themed terms or solving crossword clues. These daily puzzles provide opportunities to test vocabulary, practise pattern recognition and enjoy a short mental challenge.
A new Connections puzzle arrives each day, bringing another set of 16 words and four hidden categories to uncover.
Also Read: NYT Connections Answers for October 24, 2026: Hints and Full Solutions for Puzzle #1231
