NYT Connections Answers Today: Thursday, October 22, 2026 (#1229)

Puzzle #1229 · Updated Thursday, October 22, 2026

Stuck on today's Connections? Start with the nudges below and only open the next hint if you need it. The full solution is tucked away, so nothing gets spoiled by accident.

Hint 1: Nudges (no spoilers)

• Yellow: Something your hand wraps around.
• Green: Three-dimensional art you would see in a gallery or a park.
• Blue: Sunday afternoon, out on the field.
• Purple: The endings are missing. Add a few letters to each word and you will be in bed.

Traps to Avoid Today

HILT, GRIP, HANDLE and GUARD can all describe parts of a sword, which makes a sword group look tempting. It is not one: GUARD belongs with the football positions, and the other three sit with KNOB in the grasped-parts group. MOBILE is the art kind (a hanging sculpture), not a phone. SAFETY, GUARD and COMFORT can also pass for a protection group that does not exist.

One way to play it: check the football group first, since END, GUARD, SAFETY and TACKLE each have a clear football meaning. Then take the sculptures, then the grasped parts, and leave bedding for last. The purple group is much easier once the other twelve words are gone.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the NYT Connections answers for Thursday, October 22, 2026 (#1229)?

Yellow (parts to be grasped): GRIP, HANDLE, HILT, KNOB; Green (kinds of sculptures): BUST, MOBILE, RELIEF, STATUE; Blue (american football positions): END, GUARD, SAFETY, TACKLE; Purple (starts of bedding): BLANK, COMFORT, PILL, SHE.

What is the hardest group in Connections #1229?

The purple group, starts of bedding. Each word is an unfinished bedding item: BLANK + ET = BLANKET, COMFORT + ER = COMFORTER, PILL + OW = PILLOW, SHE + ET = SHEET.

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