NYT Connections hints and answers for Sunday, October 19

Hey there, Connectors! I hope you’ve had a fantastic weekend so far.

I try not to concern myself too much with what other people think about me. It’s not good for the soul. Good, bad, it all evens out. That’s why I try to treat compliments and criticism equally.

All we can really do is try to be good people. We can’t control anyone else’s perception of us.

Still, I’ve been thinking lately about legacy (maaaaaybe for a future Pastimes essay when I have the bandwidth?!?!) and more specifically, what I actually would like people to say about me while I’m still here and then when I’m gone. There’s one word in particular I’d especially like for people to use in that regard. I’m not going to say what it is, because it would then become instantly inauthentic if anyone ever did use that word while talking about this guy right here.

I’m not fishing for compliments (I swear, I’m not!!!!). My point is just that figuring out what we’d want others to say about us can help shape how we lead our lives, hopefully for the better.

Before we begin, we have a great little community on Discord, where we chat about NYT Connections, the rest of the NYT games and all kinds of other stuff. Everyone who has joined has been lovely. It’s a fun hangout spot, and you’re more than welcome to join us.

Discord is also the best way to give me any feedback about the column, especially on the rare (or not-so-rare) occasions that I mess something up. I don’t look at Twitter much.

Today’s NYT Connections hints and answers for Sunday, October 19 are coming right up. Let’s get rolling!

What Are Today’s Connections Hints?

Scroll slowly! Just after the hints for each of today’s Connections groups, I’ll reveal what the groups are without immediately telling you which words go into them.

Today’s 16 words are...

• CRUNCHY

• FALL

• LEAVES

• COVER

• BUG

• MARSH

• WIG

• SPILL

• SKORT

• JACKET

• TUMBLE

• FLIP

• SPINE

• DOVER

• FREAK

• WIPEOUT

And the level one hints for today’s Connections groups are:

• 🟨 Yellow group — the fate of many American Ninja Warrior competitors

• 🟩 Green group — using these to keep things together was a novel idea

• 🟦 Blue group — act in the same way as Howard Beale (Peter Finch) in the most famous scene from the movie Network

• 🟪 Purple group — as with good Halloween treats, these aren't fun size

One Word For Each Connections Group

Need some extra help? 

Be warned: we’re starting to get into spoiler territory.

Let’s take a look at one word for each group.

Today’s Connections word hints are…

• 🟨 Yellow group — TUMBLE

• 🟩 Green group — LEAVES

• 🟦 Blue group — BUG

• 🟪 Purple group — SKORT

What Are Today’s Connections Groups?

Today’s Connections groups are...

• 🟨 Yellow group — topple

• 🟩 Green group — parts of a book

• 🟦 Blue group — lose it, with "out"

• 🟪 Purple group — chocolate bars plus a letter

What Are Today’s Connections Answers?

Spoiler alert! Don’t scroll any further down the page until you’re ready to find out today’s Connections answers.

This is your final warning!

Today’s Connections answers are...

• 🟨 Yellow group — topple (FALL, SPILL, TUMBLE, WIPEOUT)

• 🟩 Green group — parts of a book (COVER, JACKET, LEAVES, SPINE)

• 🟦 Blue group — lose it, with "out" (BUG, FLIP, FREAK, WIG)

• 🟪 Purple group — chocolate bars plus a letter (CRUNCHY, DOVER, MARSH, SKORT)

Fun little Easter egg with CRUNCHY, FALL and LEAVES together on the top line. It even keeps going to almost make an actual sentence: “Crunchy fall leaves cover bug marsh.” Just needed an "a" before BUG, I’d say. Cute all the same.

Okay, let's go. The yellows were up first. I initially thought that FLIP might have gone with them because I was totally overlooking FALL. Glad I didn't slip up there.

WIG and FREAK opened the doorway to the blues. Not too complicated.

After a couple of shuffles, JACKET and SPINE landed next to each other. That led me into the greens.

I didn't get the purples this time, because I've never heard of Dove chocolate and barely remember Skor. I probably should have clocked that there was some wordplay going on with SKORT.

And yet, that's a perfect game for your good pal, Kris. A 233rd win in a row, in fact. How did you get on?

Here's my grid for today:

🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟪🟪🟪🟪

That’s all there is to it for today’s Connections clues and answers. I’ll be back over at Forbes for the Monday-Friday editions for the column. And if you haven’t subscribed to Pastimes already, definitely do that! It would be super sweet of you.

P.S. You may know by now that I generally like to go with a more relaxing song on Sundays. Thanks to the blue group, I can't do that today. There's only one way to go this time:

I suppose I could have gone with “Wipe Out” by The Surfaris, but nah. “Freak Out” is much better.

Have a great day! Stay hydrated! Be kind to yourself and each other! Call someone you love!

On weekdays, you can find this column over at Forbes. Please follow my blog there for more coverage of NYT Connections and other word games, and even some video game news, insights and analysis. It helps me out a lot!

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