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Spoilers ahead: The New York Times-branded Connections puzzle #862 is identified by multiple answer guides as the game for October 20, 2025. If you want to solve it yourself first, use the hints below before revealing the groups.
Hints for Connections #862
Try these clues in order, from broadest to most direct:
- Think of words for something that troubles you.
- Look for names associated with constellations.
- Some entries are chemical element symbols.
- Four entries can each be followed by the same word: CORN.
The four Connections answers
| Color | Category | Words | Why they fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow | AFFLICTION | BUGBEAR, COMPLEX, DEMON, HANG-UP | Each can describe a trouble, worry, fixation, or persistent problem. |
| Green | REPRESENTED BY CONSTELLATIONS | BIG BEAR, CENTAUR, HUNTER, LYRE | The answer guide associates these with Ursa Major, Centaurus, Orion as the Hunter, and Lyra. |
| Blue | PERIODIC TABLE SYMBOLS | AS, BE, I, K | As is arsenic, Be is beryllium, I is iodine, and K is potassium. Chemical symbols are conventionally written with a capital first letter and, when present, a lowercase second letter. |
| Purple | ___CORN | A, CAPRI, POP, UNI | Add CORN to make ACORN, CAPRICORN, POPCORN, and UNICORN. |
How to work through the tricky entries
Use the obvious forms as anchors
AS and BE look like element symbols, and I and K complete the four-symbol set. Read them as chemical notation—As, Be, I, and K—rather than as ordinary letter combinations.
Test word completions before settling on a meaning
A, CAPRI, POP, and UNI become familiar words when followed by CORN. This makes CAPRI a word fragment for CAPRICORN in this puzzle, rather than a member of the constellation-associated group.
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Keep similar-looking words apart
BIG BEAR and BUGBEAR are close on the board but belong to different categories: BIG BEAR is in the constellation-associated set, while BUGBEAR is an affliction. Likewise, K, POP, DEMON, and HUNTER may look like the start of a pop-culture grouping, but the published solution places them in four different categories.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the puzzle asks you to do
Connections presents 16 words to sort into four groups of four. A secondary puzzle guide says four incorrect guesses reveal the answers. The solution and category labels here are corroborated by puzzle-specific answer guides; an official NYT puzzle page was not available for independent confirmation.
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