This is issue 1224 of the Connections explanation page, dated October 17, 2026. It walks through the puzzle's four groups and explains how each set of four words fits together.
If you want a nudge before seeing the full solution, you can click to reveal gentle clues. Each hint points toward a group's shared idea without naming the words in it.
The answers and the detailed explanations stay hidden until you open them, so you can work through the puzzle at your own pace and reveal only what you need.
Each group is covered in turn, with a short note on every word explaining why it belongs and how it connects to the others.
Playing The Athletic's sports puzzle? Sports Edition hints and explanations.
Connections hints (no spoilers)
Yellow
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Sounds and signals that get your attention on a device
Green
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Four nouns for an image a camera can capture
Blue
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Animals with claws and hard shells, found on shores and in oceans
Purple
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Places and titles that follow the same two-letter word
Connections answers — October 17, 2026
Yellow Sounds and signals that get your attention on a device Reveal group Hide group
DIGITAL NOTIFICATIONS
- ALERT
- CHIME
- DING
- PING
These four words all name ways a phone, computer, or similar device notifies you. An alert is a notification that draws attention to something. A chime is a pleasant ringing tone used as a notification sound. A ding is a short, sharp bell-like sound. A ping is a brief signal or sound, often used to get attention or confirm a connection. Each can serve as a notification in digital contexts.
Read this group’s word explanationsGreen Four nouns for an image a camera can capture Reveal group Hide group
PHOTO
- SHOT
- SNAP
- STILL
All four words can name a photograph. A print is a photographic copy. A shot is a photo, and a snap is a snapshot. A still is a static photograph, especially an image of actors or scenes used to publicize or document a film. The category uses nouns for the picture itself; it does not depend on the verbs shoot or snap.
Read this group’s word explanationsBlue Animals with claws and hard shells, found on shores and in oceans Reveal group Hide group
KINDS OF CRABS
- FIDDLER
- HERMIT
- KING
- SNOW
Add CRAB after each entry to make four familiar animal names: fiddler crab, hermit crab, king crab, and snow crab. The musician meaning of FIDDLER and the royal meaning of KING can distract from this shared compound-word pattern. Male fiddler crabs have one enlarged claw; females have two small feeding claws.
Read this group’s word explanationsPurple Places and titles that follow the same two-letter word Reveal group Hide group
LA ___
- BOHÈME
- BREA
- PAZ
- SCALA
Each entry completes a familiar name beginning with La. La Bohème is an opera by Puccini. La Brea appears in the name of the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. La Paz is Bolivia's seat of government; Sucre is its constitutional capital. La Scala is an opera house in Milan. The connection is the preceding word La, rather than all four names referring to the same kind of thing.
Read this group’s word explanationsWhy these words fit
Read explanations
Full spoilers below: a closer look at every group and the wordplay behind it.
Yellow
DIGITAL NOTIFICATIONS
These four words all name ways a phone, computer, or similar device notifies you. An alert is a notification that draws attention to something. A chime is a pleasant ringing tone used as a notification sound. A ding is a short, sharp bell-like sound. A ping is a brief signal or sound, often used to get attention or confirm a connection. Each can serve as a notification in digital contexts.
- ALERT
-
An alert is a notification that warns or informs you, such as a message that appears on a screen or a sound that draws attention to something needing notice.
- CHIME
-
A chime is a ringing, often musical tone. Devices use chimes as notification sounds, so the word fits the group of digital notifications.
- DING
-
A ding is a short, sharp ringing sound. It is commonly used as a notification tone on phones and computers, placing it with the other attention-getting signals.
- PING
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A ping is a brief signal or sound used to get attention or check a connection. In digital settings it often serves as a notification, matching the other entries.
Green
PHOTO
All four words can name a photograph. A print is a photographic copy. A shot is a photo, and a snap is a snapshot. A still is a static photograph, especially an image of actors or scenes used to publicize or document a film. The category uses nouns for the picture itself; it does not depend on the verbs shoot or snap.
-
A print is a photographic copy, such as a photograph printed on paper. This noun sense names the resulting picture.
- SHOT
-
A shot can mean a photograph: 'a shot of the skyline' names the picture. That noun meaning fits PHOTO without relying on the action of taking it.
- SNAP
-
A snap is a snapshot. Here it is the noun for a photograph, not the verb meaning to take a picture or break something suddenly.
- STILL
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A still is a static photograph, especially one of actors or scenes made for film publicity or documentation. It need not be a frame extracted from a moving film.
Blue
KINDS OF CRABS
Add CRAB after each entry to make four familiar animal names: fiddler crab, hermit crab, king crab, and snow crab. The musician meaning of FIDDLER and the royal meaning of KING can distract from this shared compound-word pattern. Male fiddler crabs have one enlarged claw; females have two small feeding claws.
- FIDDLER
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A fiddler crab is a small shore crab whose male has one enlarged claw. During feeding, the smaller claw moves toward its mouth like a bow across the larger claw, giving the crab its common name.
- HERMIT
-
A hermit crab is a crab that protects itself by living in a shell it finds and carries. It is a recognized kind of crab.
- KING
-
A king crab is a large crab, especially one from cold northern waters, known as a food source. It names a specific type of crab.
- SNOW
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A snow crab is a cold-water crab with long legs, often harvested for its meat. It is one of the crab varieties in this group.
Purple
LA ___
Each entry completes a familiar name beginning with La. La Bohème is an opera by Puccini. La Brea appears in the name of the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. La Paz is Bolivia's seat of government; Sucre is its constitutional capital. La Scala is an opera house in Milan. The connection is the preceding word La, rather than all four names referring to the same kind of thing.
- BOHÈME
-
La Bohème is an opera by Giacomo Puccini. The entry completes the title when preceded by La, matching the group's shared prefix.
- BREA
-
La Brea is a place name, familiar from the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. It follows La to form a well-known name.
- PAZ
-
La Paz is a Bolivian city and the seat of the national government. Sucre is the constitutional capital. The puzzle needs the place name La Paz, formed by putting La before PAZ.
- SCALA
-
La Scala is the renowned opera house in Milan. The entry completes that name when preceded by La, fitting the shared-prefix pattern.
How difficult is this puzzle?
This puzzle reads as moderately challenging by editorial impression. The notification group is likely the most accessible, since the four sounds and signals are familiar in everyday phone and computer use. The photo group is a little trickier because several of its words have common non-photo senses, so solvers may need to notice the shared photographic meaning. The crab group depends on recognizing a category of animals rather than a single meaning, which can take a moment. The final group is the most demanding, since it relies on a shared word that precedes each entry rather than on the entries' own meanings.
More Connections answers
Frequently asked questions
What is the overall theme of issue 1224?
The puzzle has four groups: digital notifications, words that can mean a photograph, kinds of crabs, and names completed by putting La before the tile. Each group is explained in turn on this page, with a note on every word.
Why do ALERT, CHIME, DING, and PING belong together?
They all name sounds or signals a device uses to notify you. An alert draws attention, a chime is a ringing tone, a ding is a short sharp sound, and a ping is a brief signal. Each can serve as a digital notification.
How are PRINT, SHOT, SNAP, and STILL related?
All four can name a photograph. A print is a photographic copy, a shot is a photo, a snap is a snapshot, and a still is a static photograph, especially one used for film publicity or documentation.
What links FIDDLER, HERMIT, KING, and SNOW?
Put CRAB after each tile to make fiddler crab, hermit crab, king crab, and snow crab. The group uses these compound animal names.
Why are BOHÈME, BREA, PAZ, and SCALA grouped together?
Each completes a familiar name beginning with La: La Bohème, La Brea, La Paz, and La Scala. The connection is the shared preceding word, not a shared meaning among the entries.
Sources & further reading
Sources & further reading
- The New York Times — Connections
- University of Texas Marine Science Institute — Fiddler Crabs
- Merriam-Webster — print
- Merriam-Webster — shot
- Merriam-Webster — snap
- Merriam-Webster — still
- Royal Ballet and Opera — La bohème
- La Brea Tar Pits — La Brea Tar Pits and Hancock Park
- Teatro alla Scala — History
- OAS — January 2009 meeting report, Bolivia presentation (PDF page 68)
- Bolivia — Constitución Política del Estado, Article 6 (OAS-hosted PDF)