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Spoiler warning: This page starts with gentle hints for NYT Connections game #861, dated Sunday, October 19, 2025, and then reveals the category names and all 16 answers. Stop before the answer section if you want to solve it yourself.
Gentle hints for Connections #861
- One group is about how someone might end up on the ground.
- One relates to something you read.
- One points to getting mad.
- One is about sweet treats with a little extra.
Stronger group nudges
- Fall over.
- Elements of a paperback.
- Types of panic.
- Sweet treats with an added element.
Full answers for October 19, 2025
Stop here if you do not want the solutions spoiled. The puzzle’s 16 words are CRUNCHY, FALL, LEAVES, COVER, BUG, MARSH, WIG, SPILL, SKORT, JACKET, TUMBLE, FLIP, SPINE, DOVER, FREAK, and WIPEOUT.
| Color | Category | Words | Why they fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow | TOPPLE | FALL, SPILL, TUMBLE, WIPEOUT | Each can describe falling or being knocked over. |
| Green | PARTS OF A BOOK | COVER, JACKET, LEAVES, SPINE | These are physical components of a book. |
| Blue | LOSE IT, WITH “OUT” | BUG, FLIP, FREAK, WIG | Each can precede “out” in a phrase for losing your temper or composure: bug out, flip out, freak out, and wig out. |
| Purple | CHOCOLATE BARS PLUS A LETTER | CRUNCHY, DOVER, MARSH, SKORT | Add one letter to Crunch, Dove, Mars, and Skor, respectively. |
Why the wordplay can mislead
FALL and LEAVES may suggest an autumn connection, but the solution uses FALL in the TOPPLE group and LEAVES in the book group. TechRadar’s writer also described initially considering a misleading cluster of LEAVES, FLIP, TUMBLE, and SPILL before identifying the intended sets; that is the writer’s account, not an objective difficulty rating.
Puzzle date and number
Sunday, October 19, 2025 is Connections game #861. TechRadar’s guide, published October 18, and Parade’s guide, dated October 19, report the same number and answers. Both are secondary sources; official confirmation of the archived puzzle is not established here. “Today” in Connections searches can depend on timing and time zone, so the date and game number identify this historical puzzle precisely.
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