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NYT Connections Hints for October 18

Blue belongs with GLASS. Purple belongs with JELLY. This October 18, 2026 page is an original practice board in the Connections format, with four hints and a grid you can play.

Need the habit, not this date? The connections hint guide explains what each color is allowed to say. The live day is on hints today.

Hints

  1. Yellow hint

    Four outlines you can draw.

  2. Green hint

    Four metals.

  3. Blue hint

    The same clear material follows all four.

  4. Purple hint

    The same spread can sit in front of all four.

Play the October 18 board

4 mistakes left.

Show the four groups

October 18 offers shapes and metals, which feel like a school quiz, then two phrase sets. Spy, wine, hour, and looking all take GLASS. Bean, fish, roll, and donut all take JELLY. Fish is the word that pulls you toward a food group or an animal group that is not there. Silver stays with the metals. If a guess is one word away, it is usually fish sitting with the wrong three.

  1. Shapes

    CIRCLE, SQUARE, TRIANGLE, OVAL

    Circle, square, triangle, and oval are shapes.

  2. Metals

    GOLD, SILVER, IRON, COPPER

    Gold, silver, iron, and copper are metals.

  3. Words before GLASS

    SPY, WINE, HOUR, LOOKING

    Spyglass, wineglass, hourglass, and looking glass.

  4. Words after JELLY

    BEAN, FISH, ROLL, DONUT

    Jelly bean, jellyfish, jelly roll, and jelly donut.