Today's Connections has four hidden groups of four. Start with a gentle nudge and only open more if you need it.
Hint 1: One word from each group
Each of these words belongs to a different group.
- Yellow (easiest): CHIP
- Green: CHAD
- Blue: BULGARI
- Purple (hardest): CHICKEN
Hint 2: Yellow (easiest) group theme
The yellow group is Surface Imperfections.
Hint 3: Green group theme
The green group is Landlocked Countries.
Hint 4: Blue group theme
The blue group is European Countries Minus A Letter.
Hint 5: Purple (hardest) group theme
The purple group is Starting With Words For "stylish".
Show all four answers
Surface Imperfections
CHIP, MARK, NICK, SCRATCH
Landlocked Countries
CHAD, HUNGARY, LAOS, PARAGUAY
European Countries Minus A Letter
BULGARI, CYRUS, HUNGRY, SPAN
Starting With Words For "stylish"
CHICKEN, COOLIDGE, HIPPO, SMARTIES
About this puzzle
- Edited by Wyna Liu
- Groups are listed from easiest (yellow) to hardest (purple).
Connections deep dive
More about today's puzzle. Everything in this section can include the answer.
Why each word belongs in its group, with a short dictionary meaning where one exists.
Yellow (easiest): Surface Imperfections
- CHIP: A small piece broken from a larger piece of solid material.
- MARK: (heading) Boundary, land within a boundary.
- NICK: A small cut in a surface.
- SCRATCH: To rub a surface with a sharp object, especially by a living creature to remove itching with nails, claws, etc.
Green: Landlocked Countries
- CHAD: A country in Central Africa. Official name: Republic of Chad.
- HUNGARY: A country in Central Europe. Capital and largest city: Budapest.
- LAOS: A country in Southeast Asia. Official name: Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Capital: Vientiane.
- PARAGUAY: A country in South America. Official name: Republic of Paraguay. Capital and largest city: Asunción.
Blue: European Countries Minus A Letter
- BULGARI: (stylized as BVLGARI) an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1884 and known for its jewellery, watches, fragrance...
- CYRUS: An ancient king of Persia, Cyrus the Great.
- HUNGRY: Affected by hunger; having the physical need for food.
- SPAN: The full width of an open hand from the end of the thumb to the end of the little finger used as an informal unit of ...
Purple (hardest): Starting With Words For "stylish"
- CHICKEN: (countable) A domesticated subspecies of red junglefowl (Gallus gallus domesticus).
- COOLIDGE: A surname.
- HIPPO: (informal, derogatory) An overweight or obese person.
- SMARTIES: dragée chocolate confectionery.
Play today's Connections at The New York Times
More hints for October 16, 2026
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