Connections Hints and Answers for Wednesday, October 28, 2026 (#1235)
Stuck on NYT Connections #1235 for Wednesday, October 28, 2026? Below are spoiler-free hints and clues for all four color groups, the red herrings to avoid, the four category names, and the full answers, each hidden until you open it.
A board full of hopeful abstract nouns: several could describe affection or a space mission, so sort by what each word can name, not how it feels.
| Puzzle | NYT Connections #1235 |
|---|---|
| Date | Wednesday, October 28, 2026 |
| Editor | Wyna Liu |
| Difficulty | 3 out of 5 |
| Next puzzle | #1236 unlocks at midnight your local time (Thursday, October 29, 2026) |
Connections #1235 hints and clues
Each color group has three clues. Open one at a time: each gives away a little more than the last, and none of them shows the category name.
Yellow group hints
Hint 1: a gentle nudge
Think about how it feels to fancy someone.
Hint 2: a stronger push
Four ways to say you have a soft spot for someone before you ask them out.
Hint 3: reveal one word
One of the words is CRUSH.
Green group hints
Hint 1: a gentle nudge
Look at what you see when you open a new message in your inbox.
Hint 2: a stronger push
Name the parts you fill in or add before you hit send.
Hint 3: reveal one word
One of the words is SUBJECT, the line people often leave blank.
Blue group hints
Hint 1: a gentle nudge
Look up, way up, to the red planet.
Hint 2: a stronger push
These names were given to wheeled explorers that drove across another world.
Hint 3: reveal one word
One of the words is CURIOSITY, which landed in 2012.
Purple group hints
Hint 1: a gentle nudge
Say each word out loud and listen instead of reading it.
Hint 2: a stronger push
Each word sounds just like another word for a way to get from A to B.
Hint 3: reveal one word
One of the words is RODE; say it and you hear something you drive on.
Connections #1235 red herrings
Words that look like they belong together but don’t. Seeing them can save you a mistake.
Show the traps
- CURIOSITY, INTEREST, SPIRIT: All three can describe an eager, keen mood, but only one of them sits with the words about fancying someone.
- BODY, ATTACHMENT: Both hint at closeness to another person, which makes them easy to drop into the wrong group.
Connections #1235 categories
Knowing the theme is often enough to finish. These are the four category names, without the words.
Show the four categories
- Yellow: ROMANTIC LIKING
- Green: COMPONENTS OF AN EMAIL
- Blue: NASA MARS ROVERS
- Purple: HOMOPHONES OF PATHS
Connections #1235 answers
All 16 words sorted into their groups, with why each one fits. Spoilers inside.
Reveal all four answers
Yellow: ROMANTIC LIKING
ATTRACTION, CRUSH, FEELINGS, INTEREST
Each word describes the early stage of being drawn to someone.
- ATTRACTION — Being drawn to a person.
- CRUSH — A strong, often secret fondness.
- FEELINGS — As in "having feelings for" someone.
- INTEREST — Being interested in someone romantically.
Green: COMPONENTS OF AN EMAIL
ATTACHMENT, BODY, SIGNATURE, SUBJECT
These are the standard parts of an email.
- ATTACHMENT — A file sent along with the message.
- BODY — The main text.
- SIGNATURE — The sign-off block at the bottom.
- SUBJECT — The one-line summary at the top.
Blue: NASA MARS ROVERS
CURIOSITY, OPPORTUNITY, PERSEVERANCE, SPIRIT
Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity and Perseverance are the rovers NASA has landed on Mars.
- CURIOSITY — Landed in 2012.
- OPPORTUNITY — Landed in 2004 and ran for over 14 years.
- PERSEVERANCE — Landed in 2021.
- SPIRIT — Landed in 2004, a twin of Opportunity.
Purple: HOMOPHONES OF PATHS
COARSE, RODE, ROUT, WEIGH
Each is a homophone of a path: course, road, route and way.
- COARSE — Sounds like "course."
- RODE — Sounds like "road."
- ROUT — Sounds like "route" (said the American way).
- WEIGH — Sounds like "way."