Past Connections Answers: Words, Groups and Categories by Date
Missed a day or want to check an old puzzle? Search the full archive of NYT Connections answers by date, puzzle number, category or word. Every card shows all four groups and all 16 words, with difficulty scores where we have them, plus repeated-word tracking and purple group patterns. Today's puzzle is not listed, so this page never spoils your game.
Updated October 23, 2026 · By Casey Marlowe
#1217 to #1229 · Oct 10 to Oct 22, 2026
Connections Answers by Date, Newest First
Search by a word (like “hawk”), a category (like “perfumes”), a date or a puzzle number (like 1222). Open any card to see all four groups. Filter by month or by the trickiest color, and switch the sort order.
Showing the latest puzzles
No puzzle matches that search. Try a single word or a puzzle number.
Looking for yesterday on its own page with hints and a difficulty breakdown? See Yesterday's Connections Answer.
Connections Archive Statistics: Average Difficulty by Color
Full puzzle-level scoring is new to this archive, so most of what we have is for the puzzles that already have a difficulty breakdown. Purple is the group our leaderboards track most closely.
Average difficulty by category color
Scores come only from puzzles that have a difficulty breakdown.
Category pattern frequency
Every category tagged by type: thematic, synonym, wordplay or plain category. Purple leans hardest into wordplay, as the puzzle's design intends.
64 of the archive's purple categories (67%) relied on wordplay, versus essentially none of the yellow ones. Classification is automated from category-name patterns, so treat it as a close approximation. Figures as of puzzle #1189.
Has Connections Ever Repeated a Word?
Yes. Words come back in later puzzles, usually in a different group.
Most recently reused words
The word, with its two most recent appearances.
What Kinds of Purple Groups Showed Up in the Last 10 Puzzles
Purple is almost always wordplay. Across puzzles #1220 to #1229 it fell into seven types, and hidden-word and fill-in-the-blank groups made up 6 of the 10.
What this means for you: if purple is the last group left, check whether the four words start or end with a smaller word, or whether they all fit one blank. That was the answer in 6 of the last 10 puzzles.
From the Difficulty Leaderboard: Archive Puzzles and Their Scores
A few archive puzzles also appear on our Connections Difficulty Today leaderboards. Here is where they landed.
| Group | Puzzle | Score | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
Ending With Ways To Carve A Surface COURT SCRIBEDIRECTOR'S CUTPIZZA SLICESAT SCORE | #1183 · Sep 6 | 4.6/5 | HARD |
Music Genre + Starting Letter BROCKNEMOSPUNKWRAP | #1173 · Aug 27 | 3.4/5 | MEDIUM+ |
Starting With Words Of Intention AIMEE MANNHOPE DIAMONDPLANETARIUMWISHY-WASHY | #1178 · Sep 1 | 3.2/5 | MEDIUM+ |
___ Bowl DUSTPOKESALADSUPER | #1177 · Aug 31 | 3.1/5 | MEDIUM |
Starting With Figures From Greek Myth AT LASTHERALDHYDRANTTRITONE | #1175 · Aug 29 | 3.0/5 | MEDIUM |
Key ___ CHAINLARGOLIMESIGNATURE | #1172 · Aug 26 | 2.1/5 | EASY |
Top Of The ___ HOURLINEMORNINGPOPS | #1174 · Aug 28 | 2.0/5 | EASY |
See every ranking and the 30-day trend on Connections Difficulty Today.
How Connections Puzzle Numbers Work
Each daily puzzle has its own number, which makes old answers easy to find.
How To Use This Archive
Four quick ways to get the most from the past answers.
Check a missed day
Open the card for that date to see all four groups and every word, from easiest yellow to trickiest purple.
Practice without playing
Read the category names first and try to guess the words, then open the group to check yourself.
Learn the patterns
Look at the purple groups across several days. Fill-in-the-blank and hidden-word groups come up again and again.
Settle an argument
Search a word to see if it has been used before and which group it belonged to.
Past Connections Answers: Common Questions
Quick answers about this archive and how Connections puzzles are numbered.
What was yesterday's Connections answer?
Connections #1229 (Thursday, October 22, 2026): Parts To Be Grasped (Grip, Handle, Hilt, Knob); Kinds Of Sculptures (Bust, Mobile, Relief, Statue); American Football Positions (End, Guard, Safety, Tackle); Starts Of Bedding (Blank, Comfort, Pill, She).
Does this list include every past Connections answer?
It covers every puzzle we have archived so far, newest first, and it keeps growing. Use the search box to check whether a specific puzzle or word is included.
Why is today's puzzle not listed here?
Today's puzzle is left out so this archive does not spoil your game. Use today's Connections hints to get clues one step at a time.
How do I find the answer for a specific date?
Type the date, the puzzle number or any word or category into the search box, or pick a month from the filter. Every card shows the puzzle number and date.
How do Connections puzzle numbers work?
Puzzle #1 ran on June 12, 2023 and the number goes up by one every day. Today's puzzle, #1230, is dated October 23, 2026.
Where do the difficulty scores on this page come from?
They come from the same per-group scoring used on Connections Difficulty Today. Not every archived puzzle has a full breakdown yet, so a puzzle without a score simply has not been rated.
Has Connections ever repeated a word?
Yes. Words do come back in later puzzles, usually in a different group. The Repeated Words section on this page lists the latest ones and shows how long the gaps were.
What is the most common type of purple group?
Across puzzles #1220 to #1229, fill-in-the-blank and hidden-word groups made up 6 of the 10 purple groups.
Are the answers the same for every player?
Yes. Everyone gets the same 16 words and the same four groups on a given day, whatever country or time zone they play from.
Is this archive official NYT data?
No. This is an independent guide. Connections is a trademark of The New York Times Company, and we are not affiliated with or endorsed by it.
More Connections Hints and Answers
Connections Hint Today helps you solve the daily NYT Connections without giving it away. Four hints, one solution, updated every morning.