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NYT Connections, explained #1235

Connections Answer — October 28, 2026

By Connections Solved · Updated

NYT Connections #1235 for October 28, 2026 has four color groups and sixteen tiles.

Clues and answers are tucked inside separate closed panels, so you can choose how much help to reveal.

Select a color to see its clue, or use the answer section for the complete solution. Definitions and explanations follow in their own section.

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Connections hints (no spoilers)

Yellow

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Warm regard or a pull toward someone: four ways to name a romantic spark.

Green

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Four standard parts of a message you send by email.

Blue

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Four names given to NASA robots that have explored the Martian surface.

Purple

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Say each word aloud: four everyday words that sound like routes or pathways.

Connections answers — October 28, 2026

Yellow Warm regard or a pull toward someone: four ways to name a romantic spark. Reveal group Hide group

ROMANTIC LIKING

  • ATTRACTION
  • CRUSH
  • FEELINGS
  • INTEREST

Read all four in a romantic context. ATTRACTION is being drawn to someone; a CRUSH is an intense, often passing infatuation; having FEELINGS for someone can mean romantic attachment; and showing INTEREST can mean that a person appeals to you romantically. These words also have other senses. In particular, the plural FEELINGS does not mean romance by itself, and INTEREST need not describe a weaker feeling than the other three.

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Green Four standard parts of a message you send by email. Reveal group Hide group

COMPONENTS OF AN EMAIL

  • ATTACHMENT
  • BODY
  • SIGNATURE
  • SUBJECT

These are familiar things an email can contain. The SUBJECT identifies its topic; the BODY carries the message text; an ATTACHMENT adds a file; and the SIGNATURE supplies a closing block such as the sender’s name or contact details. They are not four mandatory or mutually exclusive technical fields: an email can omit an attachment or signature, and a signature can appear within the body.

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Blue Four names given to NASA robots that have explored the Martian surface. Reveal group Hide group

NASA MARS ROVERS

  • CURIOSITY
  • OPPORTUNITY
  • PERSEVERANCE
  • SPIRIT

These are names of NASA Mars rovers. SPIRIT and OPPORTUNITY landed in 2004; CURIOSITY arrived in 2012; and PERSEVERANCE landed in 2021. Each name is also an ordinary English word, so the group works by recognizing the shared space-exploration theme rather than by meaning alone.

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Purple Say each word aloud: four everyday words that sound like routes or pathways. Reveal group Hide group

HOMOPHONES OF PATHS

  • COARSE
  • RODE
  • ROUT
  • WEIGH

Match the sounds to four path words: COARSE → COURSE, RODE → ROAD, ROUT → ROUTE and WEIGH → WAY. ROUTE has two standard pronunciations: one rhymes with out and makes it a homophone of ROUT; the other rhymes with boot and does not. Use the first pronunciation for this group. COURSE, ROAD, ROUTE and WAY can each name a path or line of travel; the printed tiles keep their different spellings and meanings.

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Why these words fit

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Full spoilers below: a closer look at every group and the wordplay behind it.

Yellow

ROMANTIC LIKING

Read all four in a romantic context. ATTRACTION is being drawn to someone; a CRUSH is an intense, often passing infatuation; having FEELINGS for someone can mean romantic attachment; and showing INTEREST can mean that a person appeals to you romantically. These words also have other senses. In particular, the plural FEELINGS does not mean romance by itself, and INTEREST need not describe a weaker feeling than the other three.

ATTRACTION

A pull toward someone, often romantic or physical. It fits the group as the broadest term for being drawn to another person.

CRUSH

Here CRUSH means an intense, usually passing infatuation, as in having a crush on someone. It can also name the person who is the object of that infatuation, but the category selects the feeling.

FEELINGS

Think of having FEELINGS for someone, a phrase used for romantic attachment. FEELINGS can also refer to emotions or sensitivities generally; the romantic context, rather than the plural ending alone, supplies the relevant sense.

INTEREST

INTEREST can be attention directed toward someone who appeals to you romantically. The category selects that context, rather than intellectual curiosity or a financial stake; the word does not specify a fixed strength of affection.

Green

COMPONENTS OF AN EMAIL

These are familiar things an email can contain. The SUBJECT identifies its topic; the BODY carries the message text; an ATTACHMENT adds a file; and the SIGNATURE supplies a closing block such as the sender’s name or contact details. They are not four mandatory or mutually exclusive technical fields: an email can omit an attachment or signature, and a signature can appear within the body.

ATTACHMENT

A file sent along with an email. Outside email, the word can mean a bond or a fastened part, but here it names the added file.

BODY

The BODY contains the main message text, below the header section that includes the subject. An email signature can be appended within that body; body and signature are not mutually exclusive parts.

SIGNATURE

The closing block at the end of an email, often with a name, title, or contact details. It signs off the message.

SUBJECT

The short line at the top of an email that summarizes its topic. It helps the recipient know what the message is about.

Blue

NASA MARS ROVERS

These are names of NASA Mars rovers. SPIRIT and OPPORTUNITY landed in 2004; CURIOSITY arrived in 2012; and PERSEVERANCE landed in 2021. Each name is also an ordinary English word, so the group works by recognizing the shared space-exploration theme rather than by meaning alone.

CURIOSITY

CURIOSITY is NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory rover. NASA lists its Mars landing as August 6, 2012. The tile names the robot in this group.

OPPORTUNITY

OPPORTUNITY is one of NASA’s twin Mars Exploration Rovers. It landed on January 24, 2004; its twin Spirit landed separately earlier that month.

PERSEVERANCE

PERSEVERANCE is NASA’s Mars 2020 rover, which landed in Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021. The mission name contains 2020, but its Mars landing occurred in 2021.

SPIRIT

SPIRIT is the other member of NASA’s twin Mars Exploration Rovers. NASA lists its landing as January 3, 2004. The pairing is with Opportunity, rather than a human quality shared by every tile.

Purple

HOMOPHONES OF PATHS

Match the sounds to four path words: COARSE → COURSE, RODE → ROAD, ROUT → ROUTE and WEIGH → WAY. ROUTE has two standard pronunciations: one rhymes with out and makes it a homophone of ROUT; the other rhymes with boot and does not. Use the first pronunciation for this group. COURSE, ROAD, ROUTE and WAY can each name a path or line of travel; the printed tiles keep their different spellings and meanings.

COARSE

Sounds like course, as in a path or direction. The tile itself means rough in texture, which is unrelated to the sound-alike path word.

RODE

Sounds like road, a path for travel. The tile is the past tense of ride, a verb about traveling on something.

ROUT

ROUT, pronounced to rhyme with out, can mean an overwhelming defeat or to defeat decisively. It matches ROUTE only when route is pronounced the same way. The other standard route pronunciation, rhyming with boot, does not make this pair homophones.

WEIGH

Sounds like way, a path or method. The tile means to measure heaviness or to consider carefully.

How difficult is this puzzle?

Our editorial assessment is that the purple group needs the most care: change the spelling in your head while preserving the sound, and allow the pronunciation of route that rhymes with out. The rover names and email terms overlap with ordinary vocabulary: CURIOSITY and INTEREST can suggest a false theme, while ATTACHMENT can suggest affection. Test each proposed theme against four complete tiles.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the four groups in Connections #1235?

The yellow group is romantic liking: ATTRACTION, CRUSH, FEELINGS, INTEREST. The green group is components of an email: ATTACHMENT, BODY, SIGNATURE, SUBJECT. The blue group is NASA Mars rovers: CURIOSITY, OPPORTUNITY, PERSEVERANCE, SPIRIT. The purple group is homophones of paths: COARSE, RODE, ROUT, WEIGH.

Why are COARSE, RODE, ROUT and WEIGH grouped together?

They sound like COURSE, ROAD, ROUTE and WAY, each of which can name a path or line of travel. For ROUT → ROUTE, use the standard pronunciation of route that rhymes with out. Route also has a pronunciation rhyming with boot, which does not match rout.

Which group is likely to be hardest?

In our editorial view, the purple homophone group is the most demanding because the link depends on pronunciation rather than meaning. The yellow romantic-liking words are probably the most accessible, while the email and rover groups sit in between once their themes are noticed.

How do the Mars rover names fit together?

SPIRIT and OPPORTUNITY were the twin rovers that landed in 2004, CURIOSITY landed in 2012, and PERSEVERANCE landed in 2021. All four are NASA rovers that explored Mars, and each name is also an ordinary English word.

What makes the email group tricky?

All four have meanings outside email, and ATTACHMENT can even suggest the romantic group. In the email reading, SUBJECT identifies the topic, BODY carries the message, ATTACHMENT adds a file and SIGNATURE adds a closing block. Attachments and signatures are optional, and a signature can appear inside the body.

Does FEELINGS always mean romantic attraction?

No. The relevant expression is having feelings for someone. FEELINGS can also mean emotions or sensitivities in general; the romantic reading comes from context.

Sources & further reading

Sources & further reading

The four answer groups and all 16 tiles were checked against the official NYT data for October 28, 2026. Codex read dictionary, NASA, email-standard and Gmail Help source bodies to review the explanations and FAQs. Public numbering uses the established dated issue anchor. This is external-source review, not human review or recorded gameplay testing.