This is issue 1226 of the Connections explanation page, dated October 19, 2026. It walks through the puzzle's four groups and the reasoning that ties each set of four words together.
If you want a nudge before seeing the full solution, you can click to reveal a gentle clue for any group. The clues are written to point you toward the connection without handing over the answer.
The answers themselves, along with the detailed explanations for every tile, stay hidden until you choose to open them. That way you can work at your own pace and reveal only as much as you need.
Each explanation focuses on why the four words belong together, including alternate senses or spelling details where they help clarify the grouping.
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Connections hints (no spoilers)
Yellow
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These words can describe being intensely angry or expressing that anger.
Green
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These terms all suggest speech or writing that is empty or without substance.
Blue
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Each of these follows a common two-letter prefix used in fast-food menu names.
Purple
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Look at the final letters of each word to find a hidden bird.
Connections answers — October 19, 2026
Yellow These words can describe being intensely angry or expressing that anger. Reveal group Hide group
SEETHE
- BOIL
- FUME
- RAVE
- STEAM
BOIL, FUME, RAVE, and STEAM all have angry senses. BOIL can mean to be stirred up with anger, FUME to be in a state of irritation or anger, and RAVE to speak angrily in an uncontrolled way. STEAM here means to be angry, as in steaming over an insult. Do not confuse that verb with let off steam, an expression for releasing pent-up emotion or tension.
Read this group’s word explanationsGreen These terms all suggest speech or writing that is empty or without substance. Reveal group Hide group
ALL TALK
Read all four as nouns for empty talk. BLATHER is lengthy, foolish or inconsequential talk or writing; GAS can mean empty or boastful talk; HOT AIR means empty talk; and WIND can mean idle words. Their physical-air associations are a possible distraction. The speech meaning explains BLATHER as well as the other three.
Read this group’s word explanationsBlue Each of these follows a common two-letter prefix used in fast-food menu names. Reveal group Hide group
"MC" THINGS AT MCDONALD'S
- FLURRY
- MUFFIN
- NUGGETS
- RIB
Put Mc before each printed tile: McFlurry, McMuffin, McNuggets, and McRib. These are McDonald's product names. The official pages identify a soft-serve dessert, a breakfast sandwich, chicken pieces, and a BBQ pork sandwich respectively. This is a name-building rule; it does not imply that all four products are available everywhere at the same time.
Read this group’s word explanationsPurple Look at the final letters of each word to find a hidden bird. Reveal group Hide group
ENDING IN BIRDS
Each tile ends in a complete four-letter bird name: AL + IBIS, BAL + LOON, ES + CROW, and MO + HAWK. Read the final four letters in their printed order; no rearrangement is needed. The ordinary meanings of the words are different, so the shared connection is their spelling. The plural ending matters in ALIBIS: ALIBI alone does not end in IBIS.
Read this group’s word explanationsWhy these words fit
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Full spoilers below: a closer look at every group and the wordplay behind it.
Yellow
SEETHE
BOIL, FUME, RAVE, and STEAM all have angry senses. BOIL can mean to be stirred up with anger, FUME to be in a state of irritation or anger, and RAVE to speak angrily in an uncontrolled way. STEAM here means to be angry, as in steaming over an insult. Do not confuse that verb with let off steam, an expression for releasing pent-up emotion or tension.
- BOIL
-
To boil can mean to be extremely angry, as in boiling with rage. The word also has a literal cooking sense, but here the emotional meaning is the connection.
- FUME
-
To fume is to be in a state of irritation or anger. It can also mean to emit fumes, but the angry sense fits SEETHE; visible smoke or an outward display is not required.
- RAVE
-
To rave can mean to speak or act with wild anger or excitement. It also describes enthusiastic praise, but the angry sense connects it to the other words here.
- STEAM
-
To steam can mean to be angry, as in steaming over an insult. Let off steam is a different expression for releasing pent-up emotion or tension; it is not the sense needed here.
Green
ALL TALK
Read all four as nouns for empty talk. BLATHER is lengthy, foolish or inconsequential talk or writing; GAS can mean empty or boastful talk; HOT AIR means empty talk; and WIND can mean idle words. Their physical-air associations are a possible distraction. The speech meaning explains BLATHER as well as the other three.
- BLATHER
-
As a noun, blather is lengthy, foolish or inconsequential talk or writing. The word also works as a verb meaning to talk foolishly at length; the noun reading matches ALL TALK.
- GAS
-
As informal talk, gas can mean empty or boastful speech. The word also has literal senses, but the talk sense is the one that fits here.
- HOT AIR
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Hot air is a phrase for empty, exaggerated, or pretentious talk. It suggests words that sound important but amount to little.
- WIND
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Wind can mean idle or empty words. Use the noun pronounced to rhyme with pinned, rather than the turning verb in wind a clock. The talk sense connects it to BLATHER, GAS, and HOT AIR.
Blue
"MC" THINGS AT MCDONALD'S
Put Mc before each printed tile: McFlurry, McMuffin, McNuggets, and McRib. These are McDonald's product names. The official pages identify a soft-serve dessert, a breakfast sandwich, chicken pieces, and a BBQ pork sandwich respectively. This is a name-building rule; it does not imply that all four products are available everywhere at the same time.
- FLURRY
-
Add Mc to FLURRY to form McFlurry. McDonald's describes its OREO McFlurry as vanilla soft serve with cookie pieces mixed in.
- MUFFIN
-
Add Mc to MUFFIN to form McMuffin, as in the Egg McMuffin breakfast sandwich. The menu name, rather than the ordinary baked-good meaning, supplies the connection.
- NUGGETS
-
Add Mc to NUGGETS to form McNuggets, the McDonald's chicken product name. Keep the printed plural ending when building the name.
- RIB
-
Add Mc to RIB to form McRib, a sandwich made with boneless pork and BBQ sauce. Its official page notes limited availability; recognizing the name is enough for this group.
Purple
ENDING IN BIRDS
Each tile ends in a complete four-letter bird name: AL + IBIS, BAL + LOON, ES + CROW, and MO + HAWK. Read the final four letters in their printed order; no rearrangement is needed. The ordinary meanings of the words are different, so the shared connection is their spelling. The plural ending matters in ALIBIS: ALIBI alone does not end in IBIS.
- ALIBIS
-
ALIBIS is the plural of alibi: a defense of being elsewhere when a crime occurred, or an excuse in everyday usage. Split the tile as AL + IBIS to find its bird ending. The final s is essential to this spelling pattern.
- BALLOON
-
A balloon is a bag inflated with air or gas; the word can also name a balloon aircraft. In this group, read BAL + LOON. The final four letters spell LOON, so the answer does not depend on a balloon flying.
- ESCROW
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Escrow involves a third party holding money, documents, or property until agreed release conditions are met. Read the tile as ES + CROW. Its last four letters supply the bird name; the financial meaning is not the grouping rule.
- MOHAWK
-
Mohawk can refer to a hairstyle with a central strip of hair. It is also the name of an Indigenous people and their language. For this puzzle, use MO + HAWK: the final four letters spell HAWK, regardless of which meaning first comes to mind.
How difficult is this puzzle?
Our editorial assessment: the main traps are alternate word senses and two different spelling operations. For yellow and green, try the anger and empty-talk meanings. For blue, add Mc to the start of each tile; for purple, inspect the final four letters for birds. These are solving suggestions, not an official difficulty rating or a measurement of player performance.
More Connections answers
Frequently asked questions
What is the theme of the yellow group?
The yellow group is SEETHE. BOIL, FUME, RAVE, and STEAM all have angry senses. STEAM here means to be angry; let off steam refers instead to releasing pent-up emotion or tension.
How do BLATHER, GAS, HOT AIR, and WIND connect?
Read all four as nouns for empty talk: blather is foolish or inconsequential talk, gas is empty or boastful speech, hot air is empty talk, and wind is idle words. WIND here rhymes with pinned.
Why are FLURRY, MUFFIN, NUGGETS, and RIB grouped together?
Add Mc to form McFlurry, McMuffin, McNuggets, and McRib. These are McDonald's product names. The group does not claim that every item is currently available at every restaurant.
What links ALIBIS, BALLOON, ESCROW, and MOHAWK?
Each word ends with letters that spell a bird. ALIBIS ends in ibis, BALLOON ends in loon, ESCROW ends in crow, and MOHAWK ends in hawk. The connection is a spelling observation, not a shared meaning.
Which group is likely the hardest?
Our editorial view is that purple may be the most easily missed because it asks you to inspect endings rather than meanings. Blue also needs a prefix operation. This is a solving suggestion, not a player-based or official difficulty ranking.
Does STEAM mean to let off steam in this puzzle?
No. The verb steam here means to be angry. Let off steam means to release pent-up emotion or tension, a different expression.
Sources & further reading
Sources & further reading
- The New York Times — Connections
- Merriam-Webster — alibi
- Merriam-Webster — balloon
- Cornell Legal Information Institute — escrow
- Merriam-Webster — Mohawk
- Merriam-Webster — boil
- Merriam-Webster — fume
- Collins English Dictionary — rave
- Merriam-Webster — steam
- Merriam-Webster — blather
- Merriam-Webster — gas
- Merriam-Webster — hot air
- Merriam-Webster — wind
- McDonald's — OREO McFlurry
- McDonald's — Egg McMuffin
- McDonald's — Chicken McNuggets
- McDonald's — McRib