Spoiler alert: This guide gives spoiler-safe hints first, followed by the complete solution to NYT Connections puzzle #862, dated Monday, October 20, 2025. The board contains 16 words that divide into four groups of four.
Connections #862 word bank
The 16 entries are:
A, AS, BE, BIG BEAR, BUGBEAR, CAPRI, CENTAUR, COMPLEX, DEMON, HANG-UP, HUNTER, I, K, LYRE, POP, UNI
Spoiler-safe hints
Try these clues before reading the category names:
- Yellow: Something that bothers or troubles you.
- Green: Look to the stars.
- Blue: Think chemical elements.
- Purple: Add a word that rhymes with “torn.”
NYT Connections #862 answers
| Color | Category | Words | How the group works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow | AFFLICTION | BUGBEAR, COMPLEX, DEMON, HANG-UP | Each can describe a persistent worry, problem or source of distress. |
| Green | REPRESENTED BY CONSTELLATIONS | BIG BEAR, CENTAUR, HUNTER, LYRE | These refer to the constellations Ursa Major, Centaurus, Orion (the Hunter) and Lyra. |
| Blue | PERIODIC TABLE SYMBOLS | AS, BE, I, K | They are the symbols for arsenic, beryllium, iodine and potassium. |
| Purple | ___CORN | A, CAPRI, POP, UNI | Adding “corn” produces acorn, Capricorn, popcorn and unicorn. |
Why this board is tricky
The puzzle mixes ordinary words with abbreviations and names that can suggest more than one connection. “Demon,” “complex” and “hang-up” all work as descriptions of personal troubles, while “Big Bear,” “Hunter” and “Lyre” look like unrelated nouns until the constellation theme appears. The short entries in the blue and purple groups are especially easy to overlook: two-letter element symbols sit beside words that become familiar compounds when followed by “corn.”
How to play or revisit puzzle #862
NYT releases Connections at midnight in the player’s local time. You can play through the Games app, NYTimes.com, NYTimes.com/The Athletic or the News app.
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The official archive reaches back to June 12, 2023. Access to archived games requires an eligible All Access or Games subscription and an NYT account for archive progress and play history. Archive plays can affect some statistics but do not add to streaks, and an archived puzzle that you have completed cannot be replayed.
Quick Recap
Best Value
A practical solving approach
- Scan for unmistakable technical forms, such as the element symbols AS, BE, I and K.
- Look for words that share a grammatical or phrase pattern. Testing “corn” after the short entries exposes the purple group.
- Set aside words that seem to describe problems; BUGBEAR, COMPLEX, DEMON and HANG-UP form the affliction group.
- Use the remaining star-related names to identify the constellation group, then submit each set of four.
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