NYT Connections Hints and Answers for Tuesday, October 27, 2026
Stuck on Connections puzzle #1234? Each group below starts with a gentle hint. Open a starter word, then the category, and only reveal the full answers when you are ready. Your progress is remembered on this device.
Clues and hints for each group
Hint: Restless, idle handiwork on something you were told to leave alone.
Show one word from this group
One word that belongs here: TINKER
Show the category
Mess (With)
Hint: Tiny structures tucked inside your head that turn sound into signals.
Show one word from this group
One word that belongs here: STIRRUP
Show the category
Parts of the Ear
Hint: One short word fits after all four. Picture a fast-food chain, a Philadelphia landmark, a holiday song and an underwater chamber.
Show one word from this group
One word that belongs here: TACO
Show the category
___ Bell
Hint: One short word fits before all four. Think of flared 1970s trousers, a Sylvia Plath novel, a salad vegetable and a structure that holds clocks or chimes.
Show one word from this group
One word that belongs here: JAR
Show the category
Bell ___
Test your guess
Stuck between two ideas? Pick four words and check them. You will only hear whether it is right, one away, or not a group.
Select four words.
Full answers for puzzle #1234
Reveal all four groups and their words
Mess (With)
Parts of the Ear
___ Bell
Bell ___
Why these words go together
Open the walkthrough (contains spoilers)
Mess (With)
Each verb means to handle or interfere with something in a casual, unhelpful way, and each takes the word with: fiddle with, meddle with, tinker with and trifle with.
Parts of the Ear
The anvil and stirrup are two of the three tiny middle-ear bones, the drum is the eardrum, and the canal is the passage that carries sound inward.
___ Bell
Each word comes before bell: diving bell, jingle bell, Liberty Bell and Taco Bell.
Bell ___
Each word comes after bell: bell bottoms, The Bell Jar, bell pepper and bell tower.
Red herrings to watch for
Bell sits at both ends of the two trickiest groups, so JINGLE and TOWER can both feel like they belong with either one. DRUM and JINGLE pull toward music, and TRIFLE can pass for a dessert before you spot the with link.
Safest solving order
More Connections hints
Other Tuesday puzzles
- NYT Connections hints for Tuesday, October 20, 2026 Puzzle #1227
- NYT Connections hints for Tuesday, October 13, 2026 Puzzle #1220
- NYT Connections hints for Tuesday, October 6, 2026 Puzzle #1213
- NYT Connections hints for Tuesday, September 29, 2026 Puzzle #1206
All puzzles from October 2026 Search the full archive Today's clues Today's answers Strategy guide Colors explained
Questions people ask
How hard is NYT Connections puzzle #1234?
We rate puzzle #1234 from October 27, 2026 as moderate, 3 out of 5. Yellow is always the gentlest group and purple the trickiest, so open the hints in color order to keep it spoiler-light.
How can I get a hint for the October 27, 2026 Connections puzzle without spoilers?
Every group on this page opens with a one-line hint. One word from the group and then the category name sit behind separate buttons, and the full answers stay hidden until you open them.
When does the new Connections puzzle come out?
A new puzzle goes live every day at midnight in your local time zone. We usually publish the next puzzle's hints the evening before, US time, so they are ready when your grid refreshes. See today's hints →
How many mistakes are you allowed in Connections?
You have four mistakes. The fourth wrong guess ends the game, so you can safely miss three times. If the game says you are "one away", three of your four words are correct.
Where can I find yesterday's Connections answers?
Open the Yesterday page for the previous puzzle, or search the archive by date, puzzle number, word or category. Yesterday's hints →