NYT Connections #858 was published on Thursday, October 16, 2025. Below are hints, the 16-word grid, and the complete answers. Spoilers follow.
NYT Connections #858 was the puzzle for Thursday, October 16, 2025—not October 16, 2026. The solution groups are FRUIT DESSERTS, CRABBY, FISH, and words that follow BANANA.
Spoiler warning: The complete word list, hints, category names, and answers appear below. If you are still solving the puzzle, stop after the section that gives you the amount of help you want.
The 16 words in Connections #858
The puzzle grid contained:
TART, PIKE, SOUR, BREAD, SPLIT, CRUMBLE, BOAT, SKATE, SLUG, CROSS, CRISP, CHAR, SORE, FLUKE, PRICKLY, COBBLER
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Hints for each Connections group
Here are progressively more useful clues without immediately giving away every answer:
- Yellow: Baked or prepared desserts commonly made with fruit.
- Green: A word describing someone irritable or grouchy.
- Blue: Animals that swim and can be types of fish.
- Purple: Put “banana” before each answer.
One answer from each group
If you need a stronger nudge, one valid answer from each category is:
- Yellow: TART
- Green: SOUR
- Blue: FLUKE
- Purple: BOAT
Connections #858 answers and categories
| Category | Answers |
|---|---|
| Fruit desserts | COBBLER, CRISP, CRUMBLE, TART |
| Crabby | CROSS, PRICKLY, SORE, SOUR |
| Fish | CHAR, FLUKE, PIKE, SKATE |
| BANANA ___ | BOAT, BREAD, SLUG, SPLIT |
Full explanation of the four groups
Yellow: FRUIT DESSERTS
COBBLER, CRISP, CRUMBLE, TART
A cobbler, crisp, crumble, and tart can all be made as fruit desserts. The exact recipes vary, but each word can describe a baked or prepared dessert featuring fruit.
This was one of the puzzle’s more tempting traps. CRISP and CRUMBLE are closely related dessert terms, while TART and SOUR can both suggest a food flavor. The category is based on the words as dessert names, not simply on their connection with food.
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Green: CRABBY
CROSS, PRICKLY, SORE, SOUR
All four words can describe an irritable, unpleasant, or bad-tempered disposition. Someone who is cross, prickly, sore, or sour is not in a particularly agreeable mood.
CROSS is especially useful once its mood-related meaning becomes clear: in this context, it means angry or annoyed. SOUR also works in two directions, since it can describe both a sharp taste and a person’s disposition.
Blue: FISH
CHAR, FLUKE, PIKE, SKATE
These are all names of fish:
- Char can refer to Arctic char and related fish.
- Fluke is a flatfish.
- Pike is a freshwater predatory fish.
- Skate is a cartilaginous fish related to rays.
The words do not share a distinctive ending or grammatical pattern. They belong together because each can be used as a fish name. This is often the strongest group to spot first: once PIKE, FLUKE, CHAR, and SKATE are recognized together, the remaining words become easier to sort.
Purple: BANANA ___
BOAT, BREAD, SLUG, SPLIT
Place BANANA before each word to make a familiar expression:
Best Value
- Banana boat
- Banana bread
- Banana slug
- Banana split
This is the most varied group. Banana bread and banana split are common foods, while a banana slug is an animal and a banana boat can refer to several things, including a dessert, an inflatable towable, or a sunscreen brand. That variety is typical of the purple category, which is usually built around a wordplay connection rather than a single subject.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why this puzzle was tricky
Connections #858 used several words that could plausibly fit more than one theme:
- TART and SOUR can both describe food flavors, but only TART belongs in the dessert group; SOUR belongs with the words describing an irritable mood.
- BREAD looks like it might belong with the fruit desserts, but it is part of the phrase banana bread.
- CRISP and CRUMBLE are both fruit-dessert terms, making the yellow group feel deceptively close to a general “baked food” category.
- CHAR can suggest burning or cooking, but here it is a fish.
- SKATE may initially look like an activity or object rather than an animal, but it is also the name of a fish.
A practical solving route is to test the most concrete group first. PIKE, FLUKE, CHAR, and SKATE form a strong fish set. After removing those four, look for the four words that can follow BANANA. The remaining terms then resolve into the dessert and personality groups.
Where to play Connections and find more puzzles
Connections is part of the New York Times Games lineup and can be played on the web or through the NYT Games app. A NYT Games subscription includes Connections along with other New York Times word and logic games; availability and subscription terms can change, so check the current official offering before subscribing.
If you prefer solving away from a screen, Puzzle Mania!: Wordle, Connections, Spelling Bee, Minis and More! is a New York Times Games puzzle book aimed at readers who want additional related word puzzles in print. It should be treated as an optional way to continue with similar games—not as evidence that it contains the October 16, 2025 puzzle specifically.
Frequently Asked Questions
Connections #858 was the Thursday, October 16, 2025 puzzle. It is not the October 16, 2026 puzzle.
NYT Connections #858 was published on which date?
The purple category, BANANA ___, is likely the most difficult because it connects foods, an animal, and other meanings through the word “banana.”
What is the hardest category in Connections #858?
The fish are CHAR, FLUKE, PIKE, and SKATE.
What are the fish in Connections #858?
The Bottom Line
The completed grid for NYT Connections #858, played on October 16, 2025, is: COBBLER, CRISP, CRUMBLE, TART for FRUIT DESSERTS; CROSS, PRICKLY, SORE, SOUR for CRABBY; CHAR, FLUKE, PIKE, SKATE for FISH; and BOAT, BREAD, SLUG, SPLIT for BANANA ___.
Quick Recap
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