NYT Connections Answer Today (#1221) – 14 Oct 2026 Solution & Hints
- About Today’s Connections
- The 16 Words
- Definitions of the 16 Words
- General Hints
- Category Titles
- One Word per Category
- Complete Solution (Click to Reveal)
About Today’s Connections
Puzzle #1221 (published 14 Oct 2026). Sort 16 words into four groups of four, based on a hidden connection. Some words look like they belong together and don’t — that’s by design.
The 16 Words
Here are the 16 words, sorted alphabetically to avoid spoilers:
- FEED
- FIERY
- FLASH
- FLICKER
- FOMENT
- FUMBLE
- HULK
- PUNISHER
- SERVE
- SLICE
- SMASH
- SUGGESTION
- THING
- TRACE
- VOLLEY
- WHIFF
Definitions of the 16 Words
| FEED | To give food to a person or animal, or to supply material steadily into a machine. |
| FIERY | Full of intense heat and flame, or showing a passionate, hot-tempered energy. |
| FLASH | A sudden brief burst of light, or a very short span of time. |
| FLICKER | A quick, unsteady wavering of light, or a faint feeling that briefly appears and fades. |
| FOMENT | To stir up or encourage trouble, unrest, or strong feeling. |
| FUMBLE | To handle something clumsily, often dropping or mishandling it in the process. |
| HULK | A large, bulky object or ship, or something unusually massive and powerful. |
| PUNISHER | One who metes out punishment or retribution for wrongdoing. |
| SERVE | To put a ball in play at the start of a point, or to provide help to someone. |
| SLICE | To cut something into thin pieces, or a shot that curves sharply away from its intended line. |
| SMASH | A powerful overhead strike, or a sudden forceful collision. |
| SUGGESTION | An idea offered for consideration, or a faint indication that something is present. |
| THING | An object or entity whose exact nature isn’t specified. |
| TRACE | A tiny, barely detectable amount or a faint mark left behind by something. |
| VOLLEY | A shot struck before the ball touches the ground, or a rapid burst of several things at once. |
| WHIFF | A faint smell carried briefly on the air, or a slight passing hint of something. |
General Hints
- These four words all describe the faintest possible evidence that something exists.
- Everything in this group names a specific way of striking a ball during a match.
- Add a short, familiar three-letter article in front of each of these and you get a well-known comic-book alter ego.
- Each entry opens with the same four sounds a giant famously grumbles in a well-known nursery rhyme.
Category Titles
- 🟨 Yellow: Hint
- 🟩 Green: Tennis Shots
- 🟦 Blue: Superheroes, with “The”
- 🟪 Purple: Starting with “Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum”
One Word per Category
- 🟨 Yellow: TRACE
- 🟩 Green: VOLLEY
- 🟦 Blue: HULK
- 🟪 Purple: FUMBLE
Complete Solution
The full breakdown is below — tap to reveal all four groups:
[CLICK TO REVEAL: Full Solution]
NYT Connections #1221 — Full Groups
- 🟨 Yellow: Hint → FLICKER, SUGGESTION, TRACE, WHIFF
- 🟩 Green: Tennis Shots → SERVE, SLICE, SMASH, VOLLEY
- 🟦 Blue: Superheroes, with “The” → FLASH, HULK, PUNISHER, THING
- 🟪 Purple: Starting with “Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum” → FEED, FIERY, FOMENT, FUMBLE
The purple group was the real trap: FEED, FIERY, FOMENT, and FUMBLE look like an unrelated grab-bag of verbs until you say them aloud in order and hear a giant’s chant hiding underneath.
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