Connections Hint
Puzzle #1232 · October 25, 2026

NYT Connections Hints for October 25, 2026

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

Sunday, October 25, 2026
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Today’s 16 Puzzle Words
Tap any word to see how it’s used in this puzzle
SHELLPALMGLOW STICKRIPLEYFOOTBALLBOOSTBOW TIEPOCKETTHUMBELBOWFINGERSWAGON WHEELRUBBER BANDSWIPESWIFTSAWYER

Spoiler-Free Hints

Three levels — warmer as you read down
i Ultra safe

A direction for each group — no names given.

  • Four casual verbs with a slightly shady edge to them.
  • Four familiar silhouettes — the kind you'd recognize instantly without thinking.
  • Familiar-sounding names that share a link you can't quite see yet.
  • An odd mix — every item here meets the same brief, decisive moment.
ii Warmer

What kind of thinking each group asks for.

  • Informal, slangy verbs — the kind of language you'd hear from a hustler or a con artist.
  • You'll need a culinary frame of reference: the many molded forms of one staple food.
  • Character recall from novels, film and comics — plus attention to the front half of each name.
  • Think physical: this group is about a sudden, sharp fracture and the sound it makes.
iii Mild spoilers

Pointed nudges on the words built to fool you.

  • These four are all slang verbs for taking something that isn't yours — casual, not legal language.
  • Each name is a shape a certain wheat-and-water staple gets pressed into — picture the dry goods aisle.
  • All four are characters who share a highly common first name, borrowed from different books and series.
  • Each one can be broken in a single crisp motion — and often makes a noise when it happens.

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.

PALM

Reads first as a body part, pairing neatly with THUMB, FINGERS and ELBOW. It is also slang for stealing, so it pulls solvers toward two wrong groupings at once.

ELBOW

An arm joint that looks destined for a body-part quartet with THUMB, PALM and FINGERS, but it actually belongs with the noodles.

SWIFT

Sounds like an adjective or a famous singer's surname, so the fictional-inventor angle stays hidden until the other first names surface.

SHELL

Could be read as a verb (to shell out, to shell peas) or a corporate term, disguising its role as a grocery-shelf silhouette.

Connections Answers — October 25, 2026

Tap any group to reveal it
Answers are hidden — tap a group to peek, or reveal all at once.
STEAL
POCKET · PALM · SWIPE · BOOST
Tap to reveal
PASTA SHAPES
WAGON WHEEL · ELBOW · SHELL · BOW TIE
Tap to reveal
FICTIONAL TOMS
THUMB · SWIFT · SAWYER · RIPLEY
Tap to reveal
THINGS THAT CAN BE SNAPPED
GLOW STICK · FOOTBALL · FINGERS · RUBBER BAND
Tap to reveal
SEE ALSO:
NYT Wordle hints for October 25, 2026 NYT Pips hints for October 25, 2026 NYT Strands hints for October 25, 2026

Category Breakdown — Puzzle #1232

Why each group works — not just what it is

STEAL

Four slang verbs for taking what isn't yours — some sneaky, some outright. BOOST, PALM, POCKET and SWIPE all describe theft in everyday speech, and PALM hides in plain sight as a body part.

PASTA SHAPES

Four forms you'd find in a box on the grocery shelf. BOW TIE, ELBOW, SHELL and WAGON WHEEL all borrow the names of everyday objects to describe noodles.

FICTIONAL TOMS

RIPLEY, SAWYER, SWIFT and THUMB are all famous Toms — a charming killer, a mischievous boy, a young inventor and a tiny folk hero. The shared first name is the entire trick.

THINGS THAT CAN BE SNAPPED

A surprisingly physical set: FINGERS crack, a GLOW STICK's inner vial breaks, a RUBBER BAND lets go, and a FOOTBALL is put into play. The same verb does wildly different work in each case.

Word Guide — All 16 Puzzle Words

What each word means in this puzzle
SHELL
The hard outer casing of an egg, nut or sea creature, and by extension any hollow framework. It also names a small curved noodle that cups sauce.
PALM
The flat inner surface of the hand, and also a tropical tree with fan-shaped fronds. As a verb it means to hide something small in your hand — a magician's or a shoplifter's move.
GLOW STICK
A sealed tube holding two separated chemicals; bending it breaks an inner vial so they mix and give off light without heat. A staple of concerts and parties.
RIPLEY
A surname now tied to a charming, amoral con man from a series of suspense novels, later adapted into celebrated films.
FOOTBALL
The oval ball used in American football, and the sport itself. Play begins when the ball is passed backward from the ground — an action with its own distinctive name.
BOOST
To raise, lift or increase something — sales, morale, a signal. In slang it also describes taking an item, particularly by slipping it away unnoticed.
BOW TIE
A short necktie knotted into two loops meeting at the center, worn on formal occasions. The same silhouette gives its name to a small pinched noodle.
POCKET
A small pouch sewn into clothing, and by extension any small isolated cluster of something. As a verb it means to slip an item away and keep it.
THUMB
The short, stout digit set apart from the other fingers, essential for gripping. It is also the surname of a famously tiny folk-tale hero.
ELBOW
The joint where the arm bends, and the bony point behind it. Its curve also inspired the name of a short, hollow, bent noodle.
FINGERS
The digits of the hand, four of which can be pressed against the thumb. Pressing and sliding them together produces a sharp click that carries across a room.
WAGON WHEEL
The large spoked wheel that carries a cart or wagon. The same round, ridged outline describes a substantial ring-shaped noodle.
RUBBER BAND
A stretchy loop of elastic used to bundle things together. Stretched past its limit, it gives way suddenly and sometimes with an audible pop.
SWIPE
A sweeping stroke, or the drag of a finger across a touchscreen. As a verb it also means to take something quickly, often without asking.
SWIFT
An adjective meaning fast or prompt, and a surname shared by singers, athletes and a fictional boy inventor. Its everyday meaning makes it easy to overlook as a name.
SAWYER
An occupational surname for someone who cuts timber. It is best known as the family name of Mark Twain's mischievous river-town boy.

Puzzle Design Analysis

Why the editor constructed it this way

Wyna Liu plants a near-perfect decoy: four body parts sit on the board, and PALM doubles as a theft verb, so the obvious quartet lures solvers away from both real answers it touches. The grocery-shape and fictional-name groups each bury a familiar word inside ordinary vocabulary, while the final category quietly shifts attention from objects to the actions they invite. Rarely does one word cause so much sabotage.

Difficulty & Analysis

How tough today’s board really plays
Overall
6.2/10
Most deceptive
PALM

a textbook decoy

Hardest group
Things You Snap

requires lateral thinking

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