NYT Strands hints and answers for Sunday, October 18 (game #959)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Saturday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Saturday, October 17 (game #958).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #959) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Fast fashion

NYT Strands today (game #959) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• HEAT
• TEACH
• VINE
• SINGE
• WEAK
• NINE

NYT Strands today (game #959) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 11 letters

NYT Strands today (game #959) - hint #4 - spangram position

What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

• First side: top, 1st column

• Last side: bottom, 4th column

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #959) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #959, are…

• WATCH
• SNEAKERS
• HEADPHONES
• VEST
• SUNGLASSES
• SPANGRAM: RUNNINGGEAR

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

I used to be a runner, so today’s game was a walk in the park (which is what I do these days, on account of no longer being able to run) and one where I saw the spangram from the get go.

For such a simple pastime it is amazing how many things you can buy for it and I had plenty of those listed in this search — although in hindsight most of them were aids to keep me running, rather than things that would make me better or faster at it. Rollers, tape, straps, ice packs… I had bags full of it all.

Of course, the only RUNNINGGEAR you really need are some SNEAKERS and even then there are plenty of people who say you don’t need those either — but these may also be the same people you see jogging in jeans.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Saturday, October 17, game #958)

• BLUSH
• PERSPIRE
• BABBLE
• FIDGET
• GIGGLE
• STUMBLE
• SPANGRAM: FALLINLOVE

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

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Chinese-made cars rented by Norwegian military automatically recorded and stored video footage during military exercises

• Dashcams captured soldiers entering vehicles, moving around, and typing security codes
• Military personnel deleted recordings after discovering them inside the rented cars
• A shortage of alternative vehicles kept the cars in military use

Rental cars used by the Norwegian army during an exercise in Oslo filmed soldiers and stored the recordings inside the vehicles without anyone noticing, reportts have claimed.

The clips showed troops getting into and out of the cars, their movements and locations, and gate codes they typed while facing the camera.

Despite finding the footage, the military kept using the vehicles for the rest of the exercise because it had very few alternative cars available.

Why the recordings alarm people

Public sensitivity about personal data is already high, so any device that silently stores images of people attracts immediate scrutiny.

Soldiers typing access codes within view of a recording lens is a serious breach of routine security, whatever the nationality of the car's owner.

Gate codes protect restricted areas, so anyone who accessed the clips could have learned how to enter them without authorization.

The cameras were standard dash cams that soldiers had mistakenly left switched on, so recordings accumulated in the cars with nobody reviewing them.

Soldiers found the clips by chance while browsing the vehicle menus because they were bored, and they erased the recordings afterward.

What the evidence shows about China's role

The entire situation became a more sensitive topic after learning that the rental operator is part of a corporate chain that ends with a company based in China.

The armed forces rent from First Rent A Car Norway AS, a Hertz-branded operator that supplies vehicles for daily errands, exercises and operational missions.

Volvo Cars gained complete control of First Rent A Car Norway AS, but about 79% of Volvo Cars is controlled by Geely's Swedish holding arm.

Interestingly, that arm of Geely is entirely controlled by China-based Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.

Although the rental firm belongs to Volvo, only two vehicles are confirmed as Chinese-made Deepals, and the brands of the rest are unnamed.

Ownership alone proves nothing about intent, so the question becomes whether Chinese services have the capacity and record to exploit such access in Norway.

Norway’s Police Security Service, the counterintelligence body, says Chinese intelligence and security agencies now possess greater capacity to run operations inside the country.

That concern has a recent case behind it, as police detained a Chinese citizen suspected of aiding espionage, possibly aimed at the Andøya spaceport.

Other governments have acted on similar risks, as Israel’s military barred Chinese-made vehicles from its bases and later withdrew official ones from officers.

Germany’s military took a similar step, restricting phones, tablets and smartwatches for staff handling classified material because of espionage threats from Russia and China.

Yet all these cases involve other incidents and policies, and none connects Geely or the rental firm to the dash cams that recorded the soldiers.

No evidence has emerged that any recording left the cars, which makes a settings lapse by soldiers the more defensible explanation than deliberate spying.

Via Militaryni

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NYT Strands hints and answers for Saturday, October 17 (game #958)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Friday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Friday, October 16 (game #957).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #958) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Quite the crush

NYT Strands today (game #958) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• MUST
• FLUSH
• MINTS
• FIVE
• SLOG
• LEAF

NYT Strands today (game #958) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 10 letters

NYT Strands today (game #958) - hint #4 - spangram position

What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

• First side: left, 1st row

• Last side: right, 6th row

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #958) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #958, are…

• BLUSH
• PERSPIRE
• BABBLE
• FIDGET
• GIGGLE
• STUMBLE
• SPANGRAM: FALLINLOVE

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 hint

Annoyingly, even though I suspected that today’s theme was about the squirming embarrassment of falling in love, I struggled to find any game words.

Even more annoying, having found both “plush” and “lush”, the hint gave me BLUSH.

I was obviously having an off day, and patently unattuned to the language of love, but I managed to STUMBLE my way around the board without the need of further assistance.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Friday, October 16, game #957)

• PINPOINT
• MOLECULE
• ATOM
• MITE
• FOLLICLE
• AMOEBA
• SPANGRAM: SMALLWORLD

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

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LG's next-gen OLED tech is coming to laptops and monitors first, and we've got a rough timeline

• LG's FLiPP tech could deliver Tandem OLED performance for much less
• Will arrive on smaller displays first, don't expect it on TVs for several years
• Production for laptop and monitor screens could start in 2027

If you're a fan of OLED, there's an exciting new acronym you need to know: FLiPP. It stands for FMM-Less innovative Pixel Patterning, and the FMM bit refers to fine metal masks. Those are normally used in OLED manufacturing to precisely place the organic emissive materials.

With FLiPP, there's no mask. Instead, the materials are deposited across the glass, given a protective layer and then refined using photolithography and etching to get rid of the unwanted sections.

The biggest single advantage to FLiPP is efficiency. According to trade site The Elec, LG Display found that the tech increased the utilization rate – the efficiency of the production – from 75% in a conventional FMM process to over 93% in a FLiPP process.

That's good news for us, because more efficient production means lower production costs. And that ultimately means we could see much better OLEDs without higher prices.

FLiPP also improved utilization of the organic emissive materials from 40% to 74%, boosted the pixel aperture ratio (how much of the pixel area emits light) to 65%, and enabled the light-emitting area to boost luminance by 1.6x, longevity by 2.4x or reduce power consumption by 13%.

So that means these OLED screens can brighter, or they can be more reliable, or they can use less power, depending on the preference of the device. But in the near future, those devices will almost certainly be laptops and monitors, and not TVs — sadly for those desperate for the price of the best OLED TVs to drop.

LG Display announced the technology at the International Meeting on Information Display (IMID) 2026 (Image credit: LG Display)

What the FLiPP?

LG Display's Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Choi Young-seok says that the technology is still in the first development stage. The next stage would be developing actual products, and the third stage is mass production.

That third stage will initially concentrate on the monitor market where displays are smaller — the improved efficiency figures mentioned above were for 23.5-inch panels — but laptops are apparently on the cards as well. LG Display has said it expects to reach this point by late 2027 — so the first products might appear at CES 2028.

According to Cho Heung-ryeol, who is the head of the Next-Generation Display Division, LG Display is currently evaluating its existing LCD and WOLED production lines to see if they can be reused without major modifications, or if new plant would need to be purchased. The former option is of course the preferred one. Either way, LG Display still plans for production to start in around a year.

If you'd like to know more about the technical side of FLiPP and how it compares to other OLED manufacturing processes, The Elec has published a transcript of LG Display's online seminar and you can read it here.

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NYT Strands hints and answers for Friday, October 16 (game #957)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Thursday, October 15 (game #956).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #957) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Just a little bit

NYT Strands today (game #957) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• PILL
• STATE
• LAME
• SALT
• LOCAL
• WORM

NYT Strands today (game #957) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 10 letters

NYT Strands today (game #957) - hint #4 - spangram position

What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

• First side: left, 5th row

• Last side: right, 5th row

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #957) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #957, are…

• PINPOINT
• MOLECULE
• ATOM
• MITE
• FOLLICLE
• AMOEBA
• SPANGRAM: SMALLWORLD

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

Yet again, looking in the top left-hand corner paid off. However, it was at the expense of a fairly easy-to-spot spangram — congratulations if you got a Spangram First today.

After spotting PINPOINT and SMALLWORLD (did everyone have the Disney ride theme tune churning around their heads afterwards?) I was convinced that MINIATURE would be lurking on the board somewhere.

Instead, the remaining words were all scientific leaning, with only the spelling of AMOEBA causing me pause.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Thursday, October 15, game #956)

• BEACON
• STAIRCASE
• DOME
• LANTERN
• GALLERY
• SPANGRAM: LIGHTHOUSE

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

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NYT Connections hints and answers for Friday, October 16 (game #1223)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Thursday, October 15 (game #1222).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #1223) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• HUNGARY
• HUNGRY
• HIPPO
• CHICKEN
• CHIP
• CHAD
• COOLIDGE
• CYRUS
• SPAN
• MARK
• LAOS
• NICK
• PARAGUAY
• SMARTIES
• BULGARI
• SCRATCH

NYT Connections today (game #1223) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: Paint repair required
• GREEN: Nations without a coastline
• BLUE: Nations with something absent
• PURPLE: Fashionable to begin with

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #1223) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: SURFACE IMPERFECTIONS
• GREEN: LANDLOCKED COUNTRIES
• BLUE: EUROPEAN COUNTRIES MINUS A LETTER
• PURPLE: STARTING WITH WORDS FOR "STYLISH"

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #1223) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #1223, are…

• YELLOW: SURFACE IMPERFECTIONS: CHIP, MARK, NICK, SCRATCH
• GREEN: LANDLOCKED COUNTRIES: CHAD, HUNGARY, LAOS, PARAGUAY
• BLUE: EUROPEAN COUNTRIES MINUS A LETTER: BULGARI, CYRUS, HUNGRY, SPAN
• PURPLE: STARTING WITH WORDS FOR "STYLISH": CHICKEN, COOLIDGE, HIPPO, SMARTIES

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

Having HUNGRY and HIPPO beside each other on the board, not to mention HUNGRY and HUNGARY, was very distracting. Fortunately I managed to focus and completed the game without a hitch.

I got the four EUROPEAN COUNTRIES MINUS A LETTER first, but it was a toss of a coin between that and the quartet of LANDLOCKED COUNTRIES.

Once again I managed to get Yellow last, which is something of an achievement considering that it was the most straightforward of today's groups and required no lateral thinking. Perhaps Hungry Hippo was a mental distraction after all.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Thursday, October 15, 2026, game #1222)

• YELLOW: WAYS TO PRESERVE FOOD: CURE, DRY, PICKLE, SMOKE
• GREEN: THINGS YOU CAN SCORE IN SPORTS: BASKET, GOAL, RUN, TOUCHDOWN
• BLUE: LOWEST PART: BASE, BOTTOM, FOOT, FOUNDATION
• PURPLE: LOW LANDFORMS WITH A LETTER CHANGED: CANNON, FORGE, RACINE, VOLLEY

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

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Experts uncover bizarre new malware that spooks users with jump scares and screams

• KGB RAT is a malware-as-a-service platform offering remote access, credential theft, and crypto hijacking features
• The malware includes unusual psychological tactics such as fake BSODs, jump scares, and screamer functions
• Researchers found multiple operators using the tool, which is marketed as legitimate software despite its criminal capabilities

Halloween is just around the corner, and cybercriminals are making use of it to give Windows users a good scare (and then some!) - ater all, few things strike fear into the hearts of Windows users quite like the infamous Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), and a newly analyzed malware strain is turning that nightmare - into a weapon.

Security researchers Group-IB have published an in-depth report on KBG RAT, a newly discovered Remote Access Trojan (RAT). The malware has been advertised for sale on underground forums since late 2025, although researchers found evidence of its infrastructure dating back to January 2022. It’s quite possible that it was used privately for a little while before its developers decided to share it with the community.

KGB RAT

KGB RAT is offered as Malware-as-a-Service (MaaS), Group-IB explained, saying subscriptions start at $150 per month and reach $800 annually. The $150 package provides one month of access, while the $800 one covers the entire year, working out to roughly $67 per month for the annual subscription.

According to Group-IB, even the cheapest package includes all of the biggest features - remote desktop access, file management, webcam and microphone access, keylogging, password recovery, endpoint persistence, and different anti-detection features.

KGB RAT can also hijack cryptocurrency transactions by monitoring the clipboard for copied wallet addresses and replacing them with the ones owned by the attackers during pasting.

The more expensive plans, on the other hand, include multi-client management, payload customization, additional evasion features, plugin support, and access to more extensive server infrastructure. The unnamed developers are also offering a separate $500 Network Spreading add-on, which apparently allows the malware to propagate automatically throughout compromised networks.

Boo!

What makes this RAT stand out, however, are not its hacking features, but rather - thriller ones. In the report, Group-IB describes them as “a set of psychological harassment features”, which include screamer functions, jump scares, and forced blue screens of death. “Psychological harassment” might be a bit too harsh of a classification for a jump-scare during Halloween, but we would argue that what Microsoft did with its OS after Windows 11 could fall under that category.

KGB RAT’s developers call these features “fun settings”, the researchers discovered, while Group-IB says they’re a signal that the threat actor is “comfortable weaponizing victim anxiety alongside data theft”. Cryptocurrency theft, data exfiltration, keylogging, and remote desktop access, somehow seem to go hand-in-hand with anxiety, we believe.

The malware is designed to evade detection, using obfuscation, a reportedly daily-updated crypter, sandbox detection, and mechanisms for disabling (or simply bypassing) security protections. It uses a Telegram bot to notify the attackers when a new device becomes infected, and ip-api.com to determine where the compromised endpoint is located. The researchers said they identified multiple operators using the same malware builder, including at least one focused on stealing cryptocurrency from their victims.

Another interesting aspect of KGB RAT is that it is being positioned as a legitimate tool. Its website comes with (fake) customer reviews, and claims of being used by more than 10,000 IT professionals. It comes with an education section and different how-to videos. Ironically enough, the site was returning a “502 Bad Gateway” error when we tried to open it. While it could mean it was shut down, it can also mean a temporary server failure, or hosting problems, and it could make a comeback in the future.

While it was online, though, it contained a legal section with disclaimers, warnings and notifications encouraging users to make a legit use of their software, Group-IB found. They also included educational videos of how to install, configure, and use the software.

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NYT Strands hints and answers for Thursday, October 15 (game #956)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Wednesday, October 14 (game #955).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #956) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Sailor’s guide

NYT Strands today (game #956) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• GONE
• MEAT
• GREAT
• SOUR
• THEN
• GRAY

NYT Strands today (game #956) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 10 letters

NYT Strands today (game #956) - hint #4 - spangram position

What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

• First side: top, 2nd column

• Last side: bottom, 3rd column

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #956) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #956, are…

• BEACON
• STAIRCASE
• DOME
• LANTERN
• GALLERY
• SPANGRAM: LIGHTHOUSE

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 hint

The theme meant nothing to me (was it about maps or tides?) until I spotted BEACON in my favorite left-hand corner starting spot and the light of inspiration beamed down on me.

After getting the next most obvious LIGHTHOUSE feature of STAIRCASE (connected in the format of a spiral, no less), the remaining four game words proved harder to spot — so I took a hint and was gifted DOME.

From here I literally kicked myself as I spotted LANTERN and limped over the line with the now-easily-spottable GALLERY and TOWER.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Wednesday, October 14, game #955)

• BEAUTY
• BEAST
• FROG
• PRINCESS
• TORTOISE
• HARE
• SPANGRAM: ONCEUPONATIME

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

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NYT Connections hints and answers for Thursday, October 15 (game #1222)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Wednesday, October 14 (game #1221).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #1222) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• SMOKE
• BASKET
• DRY
• FOOT
• VOLLEY
• CANNON
• RUN
• PICKLE
• BASE
• GOAL
• FORGE
• FOUNDATION
• CURE
• RACINE
• BOTTOM
• TOUCHDOWN

NYT Connections today (game #1222) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: Keep things edible for longer
• GREEN: Game achievements
• BLUE: Sink down to see these
• PURPLE: Altered geography

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #1222) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: WAYS TO PRESERVE FOOD
• GREEN: THINGS YOU CAN SCORE IN SPORTS
• BLUE: LOWEST PART
• PURPLE: LOW LANDFORMS WITH A LETTER CHANGED

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #1222) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #1222, are…

• YELLOW: WAYS TO PRESERVE FOOD: CURE, DRY, PICKLE, SMOKE
• GREEN: THINGS YOU CAN SCORE IN SPORTS: BASKET, GOAL, RUN, TOUCHDOWN
• BLUE: LOWEST PART: BASE, BOTTOM, FOOT, FOUNDATION
• PURPLE: LOW LANDFORMS WITH A LETTER CHANGED: CANNON, FORGE, RACINE, VOLLEY

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 mistake

Kudos if you were switched on enough to spot canyon, gorge, ravine and valley in the tiles that formed the purple group’s LOW LANDFORMS WITH A LETTER CHANGED. This kind of clever letter altering trickery always foxes me.

Instead, I fell for today’s most obvious trap and linked PICKLE, BASKET, FOOT and VOLLEY, thinking that “ball” was the connection (I could have included CANNON and BASE, too).

Fortunately, this was the end of my mistakes and I saw the real reason PICKLE and BASKET were in the game.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Wednesday, October 14, 2026, game #1221)

• YELLOW: HINT: FLICKER, SUGGESTION, TRACE, WHIFF
• GREEN: TENNIS SHOTS: SERVE, SLICE, SMASH, VOLLEY
• BLUE: SUPERHEROES, WITH "THE": FLASH, HULK, PUNISHER, THING
• PURPLE: STARTING WITH "FEE, FI, FO, FUM": FEED, FIERY, FOMENT, FUMBLE

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

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'Nothing is obvious and nothing is rubbed into your face' — Control Resonant composer says 'in the end it’s all only music made with love and enthusiasm' and fans will likely uncover hidden easter eggs in the soundtrack years later

• Control Resonant composer Petri Alanko says he likes to "go to extremes to add depth to everything" in his work
• He says each Resonant has "their own features in the concept track" that can be picked apart
• Alanko says, "Nothing is obvious and nothing is rubbed into your face, and in the end it’s all only music made with love and enthusiasm"

Control Resonant composer Petri Alanko has revealed that his music features easter eggs that may take fans years to uncover, as he likes to "go to extremes to add depth to everything."

Speaking to TechRadar Gaming about his favorite aspects of the Control series and its music, Alanko said there are "layers" to each soundtrack, and some of them are only revealed "when you dive deep into my project file timelines and start digging out the details of sounds."

"One trick I’ve used about a million times with various tools is to add some string section’s 'resin' sound to something else, turning it into a resemblance of a stringed instrument," Alanko said. "Some of the tricks will probably never surface and are more or less subliminal, some of them slightly more at the forefront, but as I mentioned, I love to hide all kinds of nods and winks everywhere, pay homage to the greats."

He continued, sharing that if any hardware synth is involved in his work (which he explained is a big part of his musical arsenal), it was " reamped through a speaker setup and a pair of microphones," which was a trick he learned from the articles concerning the late Konradi "Conny" Plank, the sound engineer and producer of Kraftwerk and Ultravox.

"I learned my chops back in the day meticulously inspecting and evaluating Die Mensch-Maschine, Computerwelt, Vienna and Rage In Eden," Alanko said, adding that he "learned a good deal of studio tricks during my early adulthood" when he worked as a synth programmer and a producer for various productions, and all of that experience has "proven to be rather handy during the creation of the Control Resonant soundtrack."

Alanko went on to share some neat details about the creation of the game's enemies, the Resonant, and said each has "their own features in the concept track," with Hedron, for instance, having "clangorous, metallic, sequenced, patterned, constantly moving" sounds.

"Hiss wants to corrupt everything and especially with that entity, the pitches start going all over the place," he said. "And Mold is a triumphant spectacle of all kinds of dispersers, turning everything into some sonic goo."

Alanko said his passion allowed him to add as much detail as he wanted, which also meant leaving in small hints that listeners likely won't find until years later.

"I have, and I will go to extremes to add depth to everything," Alanko said, "and the most beautiful thing is when people realise something after, say, seven-eight years, and I get an email from someone who just realised the rhythm of a certain sound was actually Morse code for 'BEWARE'.

"Nothing is obvious and nothing is rubbed into your face, and in the end it’s all only music made with love and enthusiasm."

Alanko has discussed the early stages of Control Resonant's development, revealing that he was brought on to the project "very early" and was still working on Alan Wake 2. He explained that this proved to be a better outcome and suggested that other studios should value music more if they care about their games and avoid AI.

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'I’d love to do a proper sci-fi score one day' — Control Resonant composer shares what kind of game he'd like to work on next, says 'one thing is sure: I’m not much good for a My Little Pony game'

• Control Resonant composer Petri Alanko shares what game he would like to work on next
• He says he would "love to do a proper sci-fi score one day" and enjoys "emotional psycho-thrillers a lot"
• Alanko says he would pass on any "cute cartoon-like games" like My Little Pony

Petri Alanko, the composer for Remedy Entertainment's Control, Control Resonant, and Alan Wake 2, has revealed which genre of game he would love to work on next, but insisted that "cute games" are a hard pass.

In an interview with TechRadar Gaming, Alanko said that with "synth" being part of his musical arsenal, he would "love to do a proper sci-fi score one day," and shared his enthusiasm for thrillers.

"Just gimme a project and free hands, thank you," Alanko said. "I enjoy emotional psycho-thrillers a lot; they offer so much writing ground, but combining that with some other, say, sci-fi flavours, now that would be something I’d love."

As for what he's working on right now, the composer said he's moved on to another game soundtrack, which he couldn't reveal, and also the movie Häyhä, which is about a WW2 Finnish sharpshooter, Simo Häyhä (aka The White Death).

He explained that "scoring movies is relatively easy, really," as "you have the linear media unchanged in front of you," and compared to the average game, " you need only a handful of music for it."

"I certainly don’t want to look down on any film composer," Alanko added. "I know several of them, and they are very dear to me, but in some ways, I feel like that posse has it pretty easy in their line of work."

Alanko went on to share which genre of game he would absolutely avoid if offered the chance to compose music for, including cozy games, because they don't align with his personal tastes.

"One thing is sure: I’m not much good for a My Little Pony game," he said. "Or cute cartoon-like games. Or rally games. Nothing against them, but I don’t have that in me. I’m from a Northern faraway country, and I live with a forest behind my house, and Nordic Noir is more or less a code of conduct in my whereabouts (laughs), so that pretty much stamps my life with [a] 'psycho-thrillers ahoy' badge."

Elsewhere, Alanko suggested studios should value music more if they care about their games and avoid AI at all costs, saying, "Love your game, love your handiwork. Respect the client: the gamers, the fans, dammit."

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NYT Strands hints and answers for Wednesday, October 14 (game #955)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Tuesday, October 13 (game #954).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #955) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Folk and fairy tale twosomes

NYT Strands today (game #955) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• CANE
• TINT
• METER
• SHARE
• TROT
• STEM
• TROOP

NYT Strands today (game #955) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 13 letters

NYT Strands today (game #955) - hint #4 - spangram position

What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

• First side: left, 7th row

• Last side: bottom, 2nd column

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #955) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #955, are…

• BEAUTY
• BEAST
• FROG
• PRINCESS
• TORTOISE
• HARE
• SPANGRAM: ONCEUPONATIME

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

Imagination was not required in order to understand today’s theme and I was able to make the leap and spot ONCEUPONATIME dividing the folk and fairytale twosomes.

My approach was to complete the game in pairs, but that was really just to make it a little bit more interesting.

As a slow-moving person, constantly being followed by busy people “tutting” at my heels, The Tortoise and the Hare is my favourite fairytale. I usually align myself with the TORTOISE, but this game made me feel like a speedy impatient HARE.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Tuesday, October 13, game #954)

• EMBARRASS
• APPALL
• NONPLUS
• CHAGRIN
• MORTIFY
• SPANGRAM: CRINGEWORTHY

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

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NYT Connections hints and answers for Wednesday, October 14 (game #1221)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Tuesday, October 13 (game #1220).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #1221) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• FEED
• THING
• SERVE
• SUGGESTION
• FIERY
• FLICKER
• FLASH
• FOMENT
• SMASH
• HULK
• TRACE
• FUMBLE
• SLICE
• WHIFF
• VOLLEY

NYT Connections today (game #1221) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: A small reveal
• GREEN: As seen at Wimbledon
• BLUE: Comic book champion
• PURPLE: A giant’s saying at the start

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #1221) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: HINT
• GREEN: TENNIS SHOTS
• BLUE: SUPERHEROES, WITH "THE"
• PURPLE: STARTING WITH "FEE, FI, FO, FUM"

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #1221) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #1221, are…

• YELLOW: HINT: FLICKER, SUGGESTION, TRACE, WHIFF
• GREEN: TENNIS SHOTS: SERVE, SLICE, SMASH, VOLLEY
• BLUE: SUPERHEROES, WITH "THE": FLASH, HULK, PUNISHER, THING
• PURPLE: STARTING WITH "FEE, FI, FO, FUM": FEED, FIERY, FOMENT, FUMBLE

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

There is often a link between Strands and Connections and today I can’t help thinking that the purple group STARTING WITH "FEE, FI, FO, FUM" has some NYT thread with today’s folk and fairy tale theme in Strands.

For me, the expression, along with the next line “I smell the blood of an Englishman”, is a strong reminder of being a small child, when all adults seemed like giants, as it is what my uncle would bellow at the start of a hide-and-seek game.

Anyway, I digress as I completely missed it in favour of TENNIS SHOTS (I wanted to add PUNISHER in there as I’m sure there are some players who call their best shot that) and SUPERHEROES, WITH “THE”.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Tuesday, October 13, 2026, game #1220)

• YELLOW: DISCERNMENT: EYE, FLAIR, SENSE, TASTE
• GREEN: FASTEN: HITCH, LASH, TETHER, TIE
• BLUE: SPORTS CHAMPIONSHIP PRIZES: BELT, CUP, JACKET, RING
• PURPLE: LOOSE_____: CANNON, CHANGE, ENDS, LIPS

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

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