This is issue 1229 of the Connections explanation page, dated October 22, 2026. It covers the day's sixteen tiles and the four groups they form.
If you want a nudge before seeing the full solution, you can click to reveal gentle clues. Each hint is written to point toward a group without naming its members outright.
The answers and the detailed explanations stay hidden until you open them. You can work through the puzzle first and then check your reasoning against the breakdown.
Each explanation focuses on why the four tiles belong together, including the specific sense or wordplay that makes the connection work.
Playing The Athletic's sports puzzle? Sports Edition hints and explanations.
Connections hints (no spoilers)
Yellow
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Each of these is something a person can take hold of, though the objects differ in size and purpose.
Green
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These are different forms a work of sculpture can take, from a portrait of a head to a shape that moves.
Blue
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These are roles on an American football team, and each also has an everyday meaning that can distract you.
Purple
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These fragments begin longer words for things found on a bed.
Connections answers — October 22, 2026
Yellow Each of these is something a person can take hold of, though the objects differ in size and purpose. Reveal group Hide group
PARTS TO BE GRASPED
- GRIP
- HANDLE
- HILT
- KNOB
All four words name parts that a hand can take hold of. A GRIP is the part of an object used for holding it; HANDLE is the general name for a part designed to be grasped. A HILT is a handle, especially on a sword or dagger. A KNOB is a small rounded handle. Use these physical-part noun senses: a manner of gripping or a nickname called a handle would not explain the same relationship.
Read this group’s word explanationsGreen These are different forms a work of sculpture can take, from a portrait of a head to a shape that moves. Reveal group Hide group
KINDS OF SCULPTURES
- BUST
- MOBILE
- RELIEF
- STATUE
Each word names a sculptural form. A BUST represents the head, neck and usually some of the shoulders or chest. A MOBILE has balanced parts that move, especially in air currents. A RELIEF has forms that project from a surrounding surface. A STATUE is a three-dimensional sculpted, modeled or cast figure, usually of a person or animal. Their shared category does not require the same construction, scale or way of displaying the work.
Read this group’s word explanationsBlue These are roles on an American football team, and each also has an everyday meaning that can distract you. Reveal group Hide group
AMERICAN FOOTBALL POSITIONS
- END
- GUARD
- SAFETY
- TACKLE
These are American football positions. END can mean a tight end on offense or a defensive end. A GUARD is an offensive lineman beside the center. A SAFETY is a defensive back. TACKLE can identify an offensive tackle outside a guard or a defensive tackle in the interior of the defensive line. The positions need not belong to the same side of the ball; the shared link is a player role, rather than a protective object, a score or the act of tackling.
Read this group’s word explanationsPurple These fragments begin longer words for things found on a bed. Reveal group Hide group
STARTS OF BEDDING
- BLANK
- COMFORT
- PILL
- SHE
Each tile starts a bedding word: BLANK + ET makes BLANKET, COMFORT + ER makes COMFORTER, PILL + OW makes PILLOW, and SHE + ET makes SHEET. These name a bed covering, a thick filled bed covering, a head support and a bedsheet. The added letters differ; there is no single shared ending. Keep the tile letters in their original order at the beginning of each completed word.
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
PARTS TO BE GRASPED
All four words name parts that a hand can take hold of. A GRIP is the part of an object used for holding it; HANDLE is the general name for a part designed to be grasped. A HILT is a handle, especially on a sword or dagger. A KNOB is a small rounded handle. Use these physical-part noun senses: a manner of gripping or a nickname called a handle would not explain the same relationship.
- GRIP
-
A grip is the part of an object by which it is held, such as the grip on a tool. This physical-part noun sense fits the group more precisely than the action or manner of holding something.
- HANDLE
-
A handle is the part of an object designed to be held, such as on a door, a cup, or a bag. It is the clearest example of a graspable part.
- HILT
-
A hilt is a handle, especially the handle of a sword or dagger. It belongs with the other names for parts that can be grasped by hand.
- KNOB
-
A knob is a small rounded handle. A door knob is one example; the group uses the graspable fitting rather than another meaning such as a rounded hill.
Green
KINDS OF SCULPTURES
Each word names a sculptural form. A BUST represents the head, neck and usually some of the shoulders or chest. A MOBILE has balanced parts that move, especially in air currents. A RELIEF has forms that project from a surrounding surface. A STATUE is a three-dimensional sculpted, modeled or cast figure, usually of a person or animal. Their shared category does not require the same construction, scale or way of displaying the work.
- BUST
-
A bust is a sculpture depicting a person's head, neck, and often shoulders. It is a recognized sculptural form focused on the upper body.
- MOBILE
-
A mobile is a sculpture with balanced parts that move, especially in response to air currents. Many are suspended, but standing mobiles also exist: movement is the useful distinction.
- RELIEF
-
A relief is a sculptural form in which figures or designs project from a surrounding surface. The art sense fits here, rather than relief meaning the easing of discomfort.
- STATUE
-
A statue is a three-dimensional figure produced by sculpturing, modeling or casting, usually representing a person or animal. This artistic sense places it with the other sculptural forms.
Blue
AMERICAN FOOTBALL POSITIONS
These are American football positions. END can mean a tight end on offense or a defensive end. A GUARD is an offensive lineman beside the center. A SAFETY is a defensive back. TACKLE can identify an offensive tackle outside a guard or a defensive tackle in the interior of the defensive line. The positions need not belong to the same side of the ball; the shared link is a player role, rather than a protective object, a score or the act of tackling.
- END
-
END can identify a tight end or defensive end. NFL descriptions place a tight end outside an offensive tackle and defensive ends at the outside ends of the defensive line.
- GUARD
-
A guard is an offensive lineman who lines up next to the center. The word also means a protector, but here the football role is the connection.
- SAFETY
-
A safety is a defensive back positioned deep in the secondary, and the term also names a scoring play. In this group it is a player position.
- TACKLE
-
An offensive tackle lines up outside a guard; a defensive tackle usually lines up inside, opposite an offensive guard. Either is a player position. The group does not use tackle as the act of stopping a ball carrier.
Purple
STARTS OF BEDDING
Each tile starts a bedding word: BLANK + ET makes BLANKET, COMFORT + ER makes COMFORTER, PILL + OW makes PILLOW, and SHE + ET makes SHEET. These name a bed covering, a thick filled bed covering, a head support and a bedsheet. The added letters differ; there is no single shared ending. Keep the tile letters in their original order at the beginning of each completed word.
- BLANK
-
Add ET to BLANK and you get BLANKET, a warm bed covering. The tile is only a fragment of the bedding word, which is the point of the group.
- COMFORT
-
COMFORT + ER makes COMFORTER, a thick bed covering with filling between two layers of cloth. ER is this tile's completion; the four tiles do not all take the same ending.
- PILL
-
PILL + OW makes PILLOW, a support for the head when lying down. The spelling of the completed bedding word supplies the link.
- SHE
-
Add ET to SHE and you get SHEET, a cloth covering for a mattress. The fragment is a pronoun, so the bedding connection appears only after the ending is added.
How difficult is this puzzle?
This set feels moderately challenging by editorial impression. The yellow group is likely the most approachable, since each word names something a person can physically take hold of, though the four are not interchangeable in every context. The green group asks solvers to recognize several distinct forms that count as sculpture, and the less familiar terms may slow some readers. The blue group depends on knowing American football roles, where the same words also have everyday meanings that can mislead. The purple group is the trickiest in our view, because it relies on spotting shared beginnings rather than shared meanings, and the fragments look ordinary until the pattern clicks.
More Connections answers
Frequently asked questions
What is the theme of the yellow group in issue 1229?
The yellow group is parts to be grasped. GRIP, HANDLE, HILT, and KNOB all name something a person can take hold of, from a sword's hilt to a door's knob. The shared idea is a physical point of contact for the hand.
Why are BUST, MOBILE, RELIEF, and STATUE grouped together?
They name sculptural forms: a bust represents the head and upper body, a mobile has moving parts, a relief projects from a surrounding surface, and a statue is a three-dimensional figure. A mobile can stand on a support as well as hang from above.
How do END, GUARD, SAFETY, and TACKLE connect?
They are American football positions. An end plays at the edge of the line, a guard is an interior lineman, a safety is a deep defensive back, and a tackle is a lineman. Each word also has an everyday meaning, which makes the sports context the key to the group.
What links BLANK, COMFORT, PILL, and SHE?
They are the starts of bedding words: BLANK + ET gives BLANKET, COMFORT + ER gives COMFORTER, PILL + OW gives PILLOW, and SHE + ET gives SHEET. The completions are ET, ER, OW and ET, so a shared ending is not the rule.
Which group is likely the hardest in this puzzle?
In our editorial view, the purple group is the trickiest because it depends on spotting shared word beginnings rather than shared meanings. The blue group can also mislead, since every football position has a common everyday sense.
Does TACKLE always mean a player at the end of the line?
No. An offensive tackle lines up outside a guard, while a defensive tackle usually plays inside, opposite an offensive guard. Both are positions. Defensive ends, rather than defensive tackles, occupy the outside ends of the defensive line in the NFL descriptions cited here.
Sources & further reading
Sources & further reading
- The New York Times — Connections
- Merriam-Webster — grip
- Merriam-Webster — handle
- Merriam-Webster — hilt
- Merriam-Webster — knob
- Merriam-Webster — bust
- Merriam-Webster — mobile
- Merriam-Webster — relief
- Merriam-Webster — statue
- Merriam-Webster — blanket
- Merriam-Webster — comforter
- Merriam-Webster — pillow
- Merriam-Webster — sheet
- MoMA — Alexander Calder, Spider, a standing mobile
- NFL Football Operations — position descriptions