Need help solving NYT Connections today? The Thursday, October 15, 2026, puzzle challenges players to sort 16 words into four groups of four. Some connections are easy to spot, while others require a closer look at word meanings and spelling.
Today’s puzzle features four categories: ways to preserve food, things you can score in sports, the lowest part of something, and landforms hidden through one-letter changes. If you’re stuck, use our hints below before checking all the answers to puzzle #1222.
NYT Connections Words for October 15
Here are the 16 words featured in today’s puzzle:
SMOKE, BASKET, DRY, FOOT, VOLLEY, CANNON, RUN, PICKLE, BASE, GOAL, FORGE, FOUNDATION, CURE, RACINE, BOTTOM, TOUCHDOWN.
Several words can fit more than one idea, making it easy to choose the wrong group. Try to identify four words with a clear connection before submitting your answer.
NYT Connections Hints for Today
Need a little help? These clues reveal the general idea behind each category without giving away every word.
Yellow: Easiest Category
Hint: Think about traditional methods of keeping food from spoiling.
Look for words associated with preparing and preserving food for later use.
Green: Moderate Category
Hint: These are things athletes and teams can score during a game.
Consider popular sports such as basketball, soccer, baseball, and American football.
Blue: Tricky Category
Hint: Each word can describe the lowest part of something.
Think about the bottom of an object or the part that supports a structure.
Purple: Hardest Category
Hint: Change one letter in each word to reveal a type of landform.
This category relies on spelling rather than the original meaning of each word. Look for geographical terms associated with low areas of land.
NYT Connections Answers for October 15, 2026
Spoiler warning: The complete solutions for today’s puzzle appear below.
Yellow: Ways to Preserve Food
Answers: CURE, DRY, PICKLE, SMOKE
These four words describe common food preservation methods. Curing often involves salt, drying removes moisture, and pickling uses a brine or acidic liquid. Smoking exposes food to smoke and can also help preserve it.
Green: Things You Can Score in Sports
Answers: BASKET, GOAL, RUN, TOUCHDOWN
Each word represents a scoring achievement in sports. Basketball players score baskets, while soccer and hockey players score goals. Baseball uses runs, and American football features touchdowns.
Blue: Lowest Part
Answers: BASE, BOTTOM, FOOT, FOUNDATION
These words can describe the lowest part of an object or structure. A base supports something above it, the bottom marks the lowest section, and a foundation provides support for a building.
The word FOOT can also refer to the lower part of an object, while BASE might make you think of baseball. Recognizing their shared meaning helps reveal the correct group.
Purple: Low Landforms With One Letter Changed
Answers: CANNON, FORGE, RACINE, VOLLEY
This is the trickiest category because you need to change one letter in each word to uncover a landform.
| Original word | New word |
|---|---|
| CANNON | CANYON |
| FORGE | GORGE |
| RACINE | RAVINE |
| VOLLEY | VALLEY |
A canyon, gorge, ravine, and valley are all geographical features associated with low areas of land. Once you notice the spelling pattern, the final group becomes much easier to solve.
What Makes Today’s Connections Puzzle Difficult?
The biggest challenge is avoiding misleading associations. For example, BASE might seem connected to baseball, especially when you see BASKET, RUN, and TOUCHDOWN elsewhere on the board. However, its correct connection is with words describing the lowest part of something.
The purple group adds another challenge by asking you to change letters rather than simply match definitions. When solving similar puzzles, check for spelling patterns and words with multiple meanings before locking in a category.
You can play the puzzle on the official NYT Connections website.
Final Thoughts
Today’s NYT Connections puzzle mixes familiar expressions with a clever wordplay challenge. The food preservation and sports categories provide helpful starting points, while the final two groups require a little more thought.
How many groups did you solve without looking at the answers? Follow GamerUrge for more daily puzzle solutions, gaming news, and helpful guides.
