The New York Times Connections puzzle for Monday, October 19, 2026, challenges players to sort 16 words into four related groups. Designated as Puzzle No. 1,226, the board received a difficulty rating of 2.3 out of 5 from test solvers. It features a mix of direct synonyms, metaphorical phrases, fast food items, and hidden bird names.
For players working to preserve their streaks or trying to understand tricky decoys, here are the clues, hints, and complete solutions for today’s grid.
Hints for Today’s Connections Categories
If you prefer a gentle nudge rather than the full solution, here are spoiler-free hints describing the theme of each category:
- Yellow Category: Similar meanings centered around intense frustration or anger.
- Green Category: Expressions or metaphors for empty talk and nonsense.
- Blue Category: Items found on a popular fast-food menu.
- Purple Category: Wordplay involving hidden animals.
Today’s Connections Categories
For those who want to know the specific category themes before seeing the words:
- Yellow: SEETHE
- Green: ALL TALK
- Blue: “MC” THINGS AT MCDONALD’S
- Purple: ENDING IN BIRDS
Complete Solutions for NYT Connections #1,226
The complete breakdown of words for each group, organized from the most straightforward to the most challenging, is detailed below:
Seethe (Yellow)
This straightforward group focuses on verbs associated with anger and boiling emotions:
- BOIL
- FUME
- RAVE
- STEAM
All Talk (Green)
This category brings together terms used to describe meaningless speech or excessive chatter:
- BLATHER
- GAS
- HOT AIR
- WIND
“Mc” Things at McDonald’s (Blue)
This clever grouping requires you to prepend the famous “Mc” prefix to find iconic menu items:
- FLURRY (McFlurry)
- MUFFIN (McMuffin)
- NUGGETS (McNuggets)
- RIB (McRib)
Ending in Birds (Purple)
The hardest group of the day relies entirely on wordplay, where each word concludes with the name of a bird:
- ALIBIS (ends with IBIS)
- BALLOON (ends with LOON)
- ESCROW (ends with CROW)
- MOHAWK (ends with HAWK)
Strategy Notes and Common Traps
Today’s puzzle featured several notable red herrings designed to catch unwary players. Words like STEAM, WIND, and GAS initially tempt players into looking for an energy or weather category. However, they are split between the anger and empty talk groups. Additionally, ESCROW can feel out of place unless recognized as a wordplay term rather than a real estate reference. Paying attention to suffixes and alternate word meanings remains the best strategy for clearing tough boards like Puzzle #1,226.
