NYT Connections Answer Today (#1222) – 15 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 #1222 (published October 15, 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:
- BASE
- BASKET
- BOTTOM
- CANNON
- CURE
- DRY
- FOOT
- FORGE
- FOUNDATION
- GOAL
- PICKLE
- RACINE
- RUN
- SMOKE
- TOUCHDOWN
- VOLLEY
Definitions of the 16 Words
| BASE | The lowest supporting part of a structure, or a station a runner must reach safely in baseball. |
| BASKET | A container made of woven material, or the hoop a player shoots through to score in basketball. |
| BOTTOM | The lowest point or surface of something. |
| CANNON | A large, heavy artillery weapon that launches projectiles using explosive force. |
| CURE | To preserve meat or fish by treating it with salt, sugar, or a similar method over time. |
| DRY | To remove moisture from food, often as a way of keeping it edible for the long term. |
| FOOT | The lowest part of a person’s leg used for standing and walking, or the base of a hill or object. |
| FORGE | A workshop or furnace where metal is heated and hammered into shape. |
| FOUNDATION | The solid base a building rests on, or the underlying support for an idea or structure. |
| GOAL | The target area or net a team aims to send a ball or puck into in order to score. |
| PICKLE | To preserve vegetables or other foods by soaking them in a vinegar or brine solution. |
| RACINE | A city in Wisconsin that sits along the shore of Lake Michigan. |
| RUN | A single point scored in baseball when a player crosses home plate. |
| SMOKE | To preserve and flavor food by exposing it to the fumes of a slow, smoldering fire. |
| TOUCHDOWN | A scoring play in American football worth six points, earned by reaching the end zone. |
| VOLLEY | A rapid exchange of shots, or a return of the ball before it touches the ground. |
General Hints
- Old-fashioned techniques for making food last longer without a refrigerator.
- Different ways a team can add points to the scoreboard.
- Words that describe the very bottom or base layer of something.
- Take a familiar low-lying landscape feature and swap out one letter to land somewhere else entirely.
Category Titles
- 🟨 Yellow: Ways to Preserve Food
- 🟩 Green: Things You Can Score in Sports
- 🟦 Blue: Lowest Part
- 🟪 Purple: Low Landforms With a Letter Changed
One Word per Category
- 🟨 Yellow: PICKLE
- 🟩 Green: GOAL
- 🟦 Blue: BOTTOM
- 🟪 Purple: FORGE
Complete Solution
The full breakdown is below — tap to reveal all four groups:
[CLICK TO REVEAL: Full Solution]
NYT Connections #1222 — Full Groups
- 🟨 Yellow: Ways to Preserve Food → CURE, DRY, PICKLE, SMOKE
- 🟩 Green: Things You Can Score in Sports → BASKET, GOAL, RUN, TOUCHDOWN
- 🟦 Blue: Lowest Part → BASE, BOTTOM, FOOT, FOUNDATION
- 🟪 Purple: Low Landforms With a Letter Changed → CANNON, FORGE, RACINE, VOLLEY
The purple group was the real bender today — CANNON, FORGE, RACINE, and VOLLEY only click once you mentally swap back to canyon, gorge, ravine, and valley.
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