The weekend has arrived with NYT Connections puzzle #1217, released for Saturday, October 10, 2026. Today’s grid, curated by editor Wyna Liu, requires players to navigate academic terminology, digital interfaces, and a specific brand of wordplay that might catch you off guard if you aren’t looking at the words as components of larger phrases.
Connections Hints for October 10
If you prefer to solve the puzzle with a few nudges rather than the full solution, here are progressive hints for each color-coded group:
- Yellow (Easiest): Think about the preparation and components required when drafting a university essay or a research paper.
- Green: These are mental verbs used when you are making an assumption or forming a conclusion without having all the facts yet.
- Blue: Consider the different tabs or areas you navigate through when you open an app like Instagram, X, or LinkedIn.
- Purple (Hardest): These words don’t share a definition; instead, they all precede a specific noun to create common activities or digital trends.
Additional Clues
If you are still stuck, here are some specific word associations for the harder categories:
- Green Hint: Words like “Figure” and “Gather” are used here in the context of “I figure that is the case” or “I gather you’re finished.”
- Purple Hint: Think about physical combat sports, vocal music, and the “Unboxing” video trend popularized on social media.
For more detailed strategies on how to approach these daily puzzles, Insider Gaming provides regular breakdowns of the most challenging grids.
SPOILER WARNING: Answers for October 10
Below are the completed groups and answers for NYT Connections #1217.
Yellow: Useful When Writing a Paper
- DRAFT, NOTES, OUTLINE, THESIS
Green: Presume
- FIGURE, GATHER, IMAGINE, SUPPOSE
These synonyms describe the mental act of assuming or inferring something to be true before it is confirmed.
Blue: Social Media Sections
- FEED, MESSAGES, NOTIFICATIONS, PROFILE
This group represents the primary navigation elements found in the user interface of most modern social networking platforms.
Purple: ____ Boxing
- BEAT, KICK, SHADOW, UN
The Purple category relies on specific wordplay. By adding the word “Boxing” to the end of each word, you create four distinct terms: Beatboxing (vocal percussion), Kickboxing (the combat sport), Shadowboxing (sparring with an imaginary opponent), and Unboxing (the popular digital content trend of opening a new product for an audience).
