NYT Connections Hints, Answers & Clues -
NYT Connections #1235 Tip
Eight of these words are wearing disguises their spellings make invisible.
What Makes NYT Connections #1235 Tricky?
Words like CURIOSITY, CRUSH, SPIRIT, and COARSE land in completely different registers — space exploration, teenage emotion, and rough textures all colliding in the same grid.
The editor's main trick is that four words sound exactly like other words when spoken aloud, and nothing about how they are spelled on screen gives that away.
Two groups here are satisfying once you find the thread, but the remaining two demand you hear the words rather than read them — harder than average for a Wednesday.
Connections Hints for Every Word in the October 28, 2026 Puzzle
CURIOSITY
Connections hint for CURIOSITY
NASA's car-sized Mars rover that landed in 2012 — also a common English word for wanting to know things, which is the trap.
ROUT
Connections hint for ROUT
Looks like a decisive defeat in a game — here it sounds like a word for a path or road when spoken aloud.
SUBJECT
Connections hint for SUBJECT
The line at the top of an email that tells the recipient what the message is about — not a school topic here.
ATTRACTION
Connections hint for ATTRACTION
A pull toward someone romantically — the feeling that draws you to another person.
ATTACHMENT
Connections hint for ATTACHMENT
A file added to an email — not an emotional bond here, even though that meaning is equally familiar.
SPIRIT
Connections hint for SPIRIT
NASA's Mars rover that landed in 2004 and operated for six years — also a common word for enthusiasm or soul, which is the misdirect.
BODY
Connections hint for BODY
The main text of an email — the section where you actually write your message, not a physical body.
COARSE
Connections hint for COARSE
Looks like it means rough in texture — here it sounds like a word for a path or route when spoken aloud.
CRUSH
Connections hint for CRUSH
An informal word for romantic feelings toward someone — the flutter you get around a person you like.
WEIGH
Connections hint for WEIGH
Looks like it means to measure mass — here it sounds like a word for a path or direction when spoken aloud.
SIGNATURE
Connections hint for SIGNATURE
The block of text at the bottom of an email with your name and contact details — not a handwritten signature.
INTEREST
Connections hint for INTEREST
A romantic pull toward someone — used here in the sense of having an interest in a person, not financial interest.
RODE
Connections hint for RODE
Looks like the past tense of ride — here it sounds like a word for a path or street when spoken aloud.
OPPORTUNITY
Connections hint for OPPORTUNITY
NASA's Mars rover that landed in 2004 and operated for nearly fifteen years — also a common English word for a chance or opening.
FEELINGS
Connections hint for FEELINGS
Emotional responses toward someone — used here in the romantic sense of having feelings for a person.
PERSEVERANCE
Connections hint for PERSEVERANCE
NASA's Mars rover that landed in 2021 — also a common English word for persistence, which is the misdirect.
Traps & Misdirects Hints for NYT Connections Puzzle (#1235)
CURIOSITY, SPIRIT, and PERSEVERANCE all feel like abstract human qualities — and ATTRACTION fits that same register perfectly, making a compelling cluster of four virtues or character traits. That reading is a dead end. One of these four belongs to a completely different group, and the other three share a connection that has nothing to do with personality.
CRUSH, FEELINGS, and INTEREST all feel like words you would use to describe having a thing for someone — and that instinct is correct for some of them. But INTEREST also has a very clinical, non-romantic meaning in a completely different context, so do not assume all three land in the same group without checking the fourth word.
ROUT looks like a sports result, RODE looks like past-tense travel, and COARSE looks like a texture — three words with obvious standalone meanings that seem to have nothing in common. The connection is not what any of them means on the page but what each of them sounds like when spoken aloud.
BODY, SUBJECT, and ATTACHMENT each have strong non-email meanings — a physical body, a school subject, an emotional attachment — and nothing about the words signals the digital context. These three do belong together, but only once you commit to reading them as parts of a specific structured document most people send every day.
Connections Hints for October 28, 2026
Yellow Connections Hints
Yellow Category Hint
Words for having a romantic pull toward someone
Think: Think: butterflies, liking someone
Yellow Category Name
ROMANTIC LIKING
Yellow Category Words
Reveal word 1
ATTRACTIONReveal word 2
CRUSHReveal word 3
FEELINGSReveal word 4
INTERESTGreen Connections Hints
Green Category Hint
Four distinct parts that make up every email
Think: Think: inbox, compose window
Green Category Name
COMPONENTS OF AN EMAIL
Green Category Words
Reveal word 1
ATTACHMENTReveal word 2
BODYReveal word 3
SIGNATUREReveal word 4
SUBJECTBlue Connections Hints
Blue Category Hint
Vehicles NASA sent to drive across Mars
Think: Think: red planet, NASA missions
Blue Category Name
NASA MARS ROVERS
Blue Category Words
Reveal word 1
CURIOSITYReveal word 2
OPPORTUNITYReveal word 3
PERSEVERANCEReveal word 4
SPIRITPurple Connections Hints
Purple Category Hint
Each word sounds like a different word for a path
Think: Think: say them aloud
Purple Category Name
HOMOPHONES OF PATHS
Purple Category Words
Reveal word 1
COARSEReveal word 2
RODEReveal word 3
ROUTReveal word 4
WEIGHNYT Connections Answers for October 28, 2026
NYT Connections Answers Explained: October 28, 2026
ROMANTIC LIKING
ATTRACTION, CRUSH, FEELINGS, and INTEREST all describe the experience of being romantically drawn to someone — each word captures a slightly different shade of that pull, from the physical draw of attraction to the tentative admission of having feelings.
- ATTRACTION
- The pull you feel toward someone — a physical or emotional draw that makes you want to be near them.
- CRUSH
- An informal word for intense romantic feelings toward someone, especially when those feelings are not yet declared.
- FEELINGS
- Used here in the romantic sense — as in 'I have feelings for you', meaning emotional and romantic attachment.
- INTEREST
- Romantic curiosity toward a person — as in 'she showed interest in him', meaning she was drawn to him romantically, not financially.
COMPONENTS OF AN EMAIL
ATTACHMENT, BODY, SIGNATURE, and SUBJECT are the four standard structural parts of an email — each one labels a specific section of the message that email clients display separately.
- ATTACHMENT
- A file — a document, image, or spreadsheet — added to an email and sent alongside the message text.
- BODY
- The main text area of an email where the actual message is written — everything between the greeting and the sign-off.
- SIGNATURE
- The block of text automatically appended to the bottom of an email, typically containing the sender's name, title, and contact details.
- SUBJECT
- The short line at the top of an email that summarises the topic — what the recipient reads before deciding whether to open the message.
NASA MARS ROVERS
CURIOSITY, OPPORTUNITY, PERSEVERANCE, and SPIRIT are the four rovers NASA has successfully landed and operated on the surface of Mars — each name was chosen to reflect a human quality, which is exactly what makes them so easy to misread as abstract nouns.
- CURIOSITY
- NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover, landed in Gale Crater in August 2012 and still operating — the largest rover sent to Mars at the time.
- OPPORTUNITY
- NASA's Mars Exploration Rover B, landed in January 2004 and operated for nearly fifteen years until contact was lost in 2018 — far exceeding its planned ninety-day mission.
- PERSEVERANCE
- NASA's most recent Mars rover, landed in Jezero Crater in February 2021 — designed to search for signs of ancient microbial life and collect rock samples.
- SPIRIT
- NASA's Mars Exploration Rover A, landed in January 2004 alongside Opportunity — it operated for six years before becoming stuck in soft soil and losing contact in 2010.
HOMOPHONES OF PATHS
COARSE, RODE, ROUT, and WEIGH are each homophones — words that sound identical to a different word — and the word each one sounds like is a word for a path or route: course, road, route, and way.
- COARSE
- Sounds exactly like COURSE — a course is a path, route, or direction of travel, as in 'stay the course' or 'course correction'.
- RODE
- Sounds exactly like ROAD — a road is a path or route for vehicles and people to travel along.
- ROUT
- Sounds exactly like ROUTE — a route is a planned path from one place to another, as in a delivery route or escape route.
- WEIGH
- Sounds exactly like WAY — a way is a path, direction, or route, as in 'which way do we go' or 'the way forward'.
