NYT Connections Answer Today (#1223) – 16 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 #1223 (published 16 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:
- Bulgari
- Chad
- Chicken
- Chip
- Coolidge
- Cyrus
- Hippo
- Hungary
- Hungry
- Laos
- Mark
- Nick
- Paraguay
- Scratch
- Smarties
- Span
Definitions of the 16 Words
| Bulgari | An Italian luxury jewelry and fashion house known for bold, glamorous designs. |
| Chad | A landlocked country in north-central Africa, home to Lake Chad and the capital N’Djamena. |
| Chicken | A common farmyard bird that’s raised for its eggs and meat. |
| Chip | A small flake or dent left on the edge or surface of something, like a plate or a tooth. |
| Coolidge | Calvin Coolidge, the 30th U.S. president, remembered for his quiet, frugal style of governing. |
| Cyrus | A Persian royal name, most famously carried by Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Empire. |
| Hippo | A large, thick-skinned African mammal that spends much of its day submerged in rivers and lakes. |
| Hungary | A Central European nation known for Budapest, thermal baths, and goulash. |
| Hungry | Feeling the need or desire to eat. |
| Laos | A landlocked Southeast Asian country bordered by Vietnam, Thailand, and China, among others. |
| Mark | A visible blemish, line, or spot left behind on a surface. |
| Nick | A small cut or notch, often made by accident. |
| Paraguay | A landlocked South American country known for its rivers and strong Guarani cultural heritage. |
| Scratch | A shallow cut or line made by something sharp dragging across a surface. |
| Smarties | A brand of small, colorful candy-coated chocolate or tablet sweets. |
| Span | The full extent or reach of something from one end to the other. |
General Hints
- Think of the kind of small flaw you’d notice on a used car’s paint job or an old wooden tabletop.
- Every entry here shares no coastline — you’d need a passport and a connecting flight to reach any of them by sea.
- Each answer is a familiar place name that’s one letter short of its full, proper self.
- Every word in this bunch opens with a different way of saying “fashionable.”
Category Titles
- 🟨 Yellow: Surface Imperfections
- 🟩 Green: Landlocked Countries
- 🟦 Blue: European Countries Missing a Letter
- 🟪 Purple: Words Starting With Synonyms for “Stylish”
One Word per Category
- 🟨 Yellow: SCRATCH
- 🟩 Green: CHAD
- 🟦 Blue: SPAN
- 🟪 Purple: HIPPO
Complete Solution
The full breakdown is below — tap to reveal all four groups:
[CLICK TO REVEAL: Full Solution]
NYT Connections #1223 — Full Groups
- 🟨 Yellow: Surface Imperfections → CHIP, MARK, NICK, SCRATCH
- 🟩 Green: Landlocked Countries → CHAD, HUNGARY, LAOS, PARAGUAY
- 🟦 Blue: European Countries Missing a Letter → BULGARI, CYRUS, HUNGRY, SPAN
- 🟪 Purple: Words Starting With Synonyms for “Stylish” → CHICKEN, COOLIDGE, HIPPO, SMARTIES
The blue group was the real trap today — those familiar country names missing a single letter are exactly the kind of wordplay that makes you second-guess an otherwise obvious category.
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