Skip to content
hints.day
Language: en
NYT · Connections

NYT Connections #1238 hints & answer today — October 31, 2026

Unofficial hints. Not affiliated with The New York Times.

No spoilers. Hints get stronger as you go. The answer is always the last step — nothing is revealed until you tap.

  1. 1Yellow group nudgeShow hint

    Think of slang where a compliment hides behind a word that normally signals trouble.

  2. 2Green group nudgeShow hint

    Bartender lingo for how you'd like your cocktail prepared, maybe with olives or a twist.

  3. 3Purple group nudgeShow hint

    Look at the opening syllables of each entry; they match familiar instructions you might give a pup in the yard.

  4. 4One word from each groupShow hint
    • GNARLY
    • DIRTY
    • GUITAR
    • DOWNFALL
  5. 5The four group themesShow hint
    • Words meaning good that sound bad
    • Martini specifications
    • Things with strings
    • Starting with dog commands
  6. 6Connections #1238 answerShow answer
    WORDS MEANING GOOD THAT SOUND BAD
    GNARLY, KILLER, SICK, WICKED

    Each of these is slang that means excellent or cool, but the literal meaning of the word sounds negative or harmful. Gnarly, killer, sick, and wicked all fit that pattern.

    MARTINI SPECIFICATIONS
    DIRTY, DRY, SHAKEN, UP

    Each word describes how a martini is made or served: dirty adds olive brine, dry uses little vermouth, shaken is mixed in a shaker rather than stirred, and up means served chilled without ice.

    THINGS WITH STRINGS
    GUITAR, MARIONETTE, TASSEL, TENNIS RACKET

    Each item has strings: a guitar has strings, a marionette is worked by strings, a tassel hangs from a string-like cord, and a tennis racket is strung.

    STARTING WITH DOG COMMANDS
    DOWNFALL, SHAKESPEARE, SITCOM, STAYCATION

    Each word starts with a command you might give a dog: DOWN in downfall, SHAKE in Shakespeare, SIT in sitcom, and STAY in staycation. The trick is hidden at the start of each word.

    Red herring: SHAKEN, from the martini group, also begins with SHAKE, a dog command, so it can mislead players hunting for the starting-word group.

Spotted a wrong answer, or a hint that gives too much away? Email us at hello@hints.day

How to play Connections

Connections shows sixteen words. Your job is to sort them into four groups of four that share something in common — you can make only four mistakes. The yellow group is usually the most straightforward and purple the trickiest, often built on wordplay like hidden words or words that can follow the same prefix.

Watch for red herrings: most boards include one or two words that seem to fit several groups. Lock in the group you're surest of first to shrink the board.

Full Connections rules, a first game step by step, and FAQ

Read the Connections strategy guide →