Connections Hint
Puzzle #1220 · October 13, 2026

NYT Connections Hints for October 13, 2026

Start with the spoiler-free hints. Go deeper only when you need to. Reveal answers on your own terms.

Tuesday, October 13, 2026
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Today’s 16 Puzzle Words
Tap any word to see how it’s used in this puzzle
LIPSSENSEBELTJACKETTIEENDSTETHERFLAIRCHANGETASTECANNONCUPHITCHLASHEYERING

Spoiler-Free Hints

Three levels — warmer as you read down
i Ultra safe

A direction for each group — no names given.

  • Four words for the instinct that tells you what's worthwhile.
  • Four ways to make two things stay together.
  • Four objects that only matter if you finish first.
  • Something invisible links these four — their meanings aren't the key.
ii Warmer

What kind of thinking each group asks for.

  • Abstract nouns about perception and judgment — the kind of quality that's hard to teach.
  • These verbs all describe joining, securing, or binding one thing to another.
  • Trophy-culture knowledge: think about what different professional sports hand to their champions.
  • The link isn't in what these words mean — look at what could accompany them.
iii Mild spoilers

Pointed nudges on the words built to fool you.

  • All four are synonyms for a refined ability to judge or appreciate — and one doubles as a body part.
  • Each is a verb meaning to secure or bind — though several also work as nouns.
  • Everything here is an item awarded to a winning team or athlete; one goes on a finger.
  • All four complete the same familiar two-word phrase — a single shared word comes before each of them.

Today’s Trap Words

The words engineered to mislead

Every Connections board plants a few decoys. Here are today’s, and why they pull you the wrong way.

TIE

It forms a deceptively perfect clothing set with BELT, JACKET and RING — all four are things you wear, which pulls solvers away from its verb sense.

EYE

Reads first as a body part and pairs naturally with LIPS, hiding its real role as a synonym for good judgment.

LASH

Suggests a hair on an eyelid or a whip-like strike, when the puzzle wants the binding sense that overlaps with TETHER and HITCH.

RING

Summons jewelry or the sound of a bell before the sports-prize sense, and it reinforces the false 'wearables' set alongside BELT and JACKET.

Connections Answers — October 13, 2026

Tap any group to reveal it
Answers are hidden — tap a group to peek, or reveal all at once.
DISCERNMENT
EYE · SENSE · TASTE · FLAIR
Tap to reveal
FASTEN
LASH · TIE · HITCH · TETHER
Tap to reveal
SPORTS CHAMPIONSHIP PRIZES
JACKET · BELT · RING · CUP
Tap to reveal
LOOSE ___
LIPS · CHANGE · CANNON · ENDS
Tap to reveal
SEE ALSO:
NYT Wordle hints for October 13, 2026 NYT Pips hints for October 13, 2026 NYT Strands hints for October 13, 2026

Category Breakdown — Puzzle #1220

Why each group works — not just what it is

DISCERNMENT

Four abstract nouns for a refined instinct: a good eye, a flair for something, a sense of what's right, and discriminating taste. The cleverness is how ordinary the words look — two also name physical faculties or body parts.

FASTEN

All four are verbs for attaching or securing something — hitch, lash, tether, tie. The overlap with the prize group is the misdirection: a belt, a ring and a jacket can all be worn, and a tie slots neatly into that imaginary set.

SPORTS CHAMPIONSHIP PRIZES

Championship spoils across different sports: the belt awarded in combat sports, the cup hoisted by hockey and soccer champions, the jacket presented at a legendary golf tournament, and the ring given to title winners.

LOOSE ___

All four follow the same everyday adjective: loose cannon, loose change, loose ends, loose lips. Each is a plain, unrelated noun on its own — the phrase, not the definition, is the entire connection.

Word Guide — All 16 Puzzle Words

What each word means in this puzzle
LIPS
The two fleshy edges around the mouth. They also star in an old warning about careless talk and keeping secrets.
SENSE
A faculty of perception, and by extension practical good judgment. It stretches from the physical ability to detect things to the instinct for what's appropriate.
BELT
A strap worn around the waist. In combat sports it also means the championship strap awarded to whoever holds the title.
JACKET
An outer garment, and also a blazer-style prize presented to the winner of a legendary golf tournament, which is why it can read as sports hardware rather than clothing.
TIE
To fasten with cord or string, and also the neckwear worn with a dress shirt. It can additionally mean an even result in a game.
ENDS
The final parts or extremities of something. In one idiom it refers to the unfinished scraps of a project that still need tidying up.
TETHER
A rope or line that limits how far something can wander, or the verb meaning to fasten an animal so it stays put. The sense here is restraint through attachment.
FLAIR
A natural talent or stylish aptitude for doing something well — a knack rather than a burst of light, though the two words sound alike and get confused constantly.
CHANGE
Coins and small currency, or the act of becoming different. In its coin sense it often turns up in pockets and vending machines.
TASTE
The faculty that detects flavor, and by extension a refined appreciation for style or quality — having discriminating preferences rather than mere appetite.
CANNON
A large mounted firearm, historically the centerpiece of artillery. Its figurative use describes a person who is dangerously unpredictable.
CUP
A drinking vessel, but also the bowl-shaped trophy hoisted by winners of many major tournaments. The prize angle is the one this puzzle cares about.
HITCH
To fasten or attach something, often temporarily. Separately, it names a snag or unexpected problem, as in a last-minute hitch.
LASH
To bind or secure something tightly with rope or cord. It also describes a whip-like stroke or a single hair along an eyelid, which is often where a solver's mind goes first.
EYE
A body part used for seeing, and also a colloquial term for sharp judgment or a talent for spotting detail — as in having a good one for design.
RING
A circular band worn on a finger, or the sound a bell makes. It also names the commemorative jewelry handed to championship teams and title winners.

Puzzle Design Analysis

Why the editor constructed it this way

Notice how the grid manufactures a false quartet: BELT, JACKET and RING are already wearables, and TIE is planted to complete the set, luring solvers away from the real fastening verbs. Yellow's synonyms all moonlight as concrete nouns, and Purple, the lone wordplay group, hides behind an adjective so common it sits in plain sight.

Difficulty & Analysis

How tough today’s board really plays
Overall
6.1/10
Most deceptive
TIE

a textbook decoy

Hardest group
LOOSE ___

requires lateral thinking

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