Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsNYT Connections #860 was released for Saturday, October 18, 2025. The 16-word grid mixes easy movement terms, sports, famous actors and a deliberately awkward set of sound-alikes. If you are still solving, start with the hints below and stop before the answer section.
One date note: Connections resets at midnight in the player’s local time zone. Depending on where you live, this puzzle may have appeared on October 17 rather than October 18.
Hints for Connections #860
Here is a gradual hint ladder, from the least revealing clue to the most useful word in each group:
- Yellow: Think of smooth, effortless movement—something that can “slip sliding away.”
- Green: Add a word that rhymes with “hall.” The result should be a sport or sports-related term.
- Blue: Look for surnames belonging to notable, prolific Hollywood actors.
- Purple: The words sound like terms associated with selling. The spellings in the grid are intentionally different.
If you want one anchor word for each category, try FLOAT for yellow, PICKLE for green, CAGE for blue and PEDAL for purple.
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The 16 words in today’s grid
The puzzle contains:
HAND, HOCK, PEDAL, SKATE, BACON, CELL, PICKLE, CAGE, DODGE, COAST, FORD, BREEZE, CRUISE, RACQUET, FLOAT, TRAYED
Answers and groups
Spoiler warning: the complete solutions are below.
Yellow: GLIDE
BREEZE, COAST, FLOAT, SKATE
Each word can describe moving smoothly or effortlessly. You can breeze through something, coast without much effort, float along and skate across a surface. The group is less about a single literal mode of transport than the sensation of easy movement, which makes it tempting to connect SKATE with the sports words elsewhere in the grid.
Green: Words Before “Ball” in Sports
DODGE, HAND, PICKLE, RACQUET
These become familiar sports when followed by ball:
| Grid word | Sport |
|---|---|
| DODGE | dodgeball |
| HAND | handball |
| PICKLE | pickleball |
| RACQUET | racquetball |
SKATE is the likely trap here: it is strongly associated with sport, but “skateball” is not the intended phrase.
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BACON, CAGE, CRUISE, FORD
These are surnames of major film actors: Kevin Bacon, Nicolas Cage, Tom Cruise and Harrison Ford. The category becomes clearer once CAGE or FORD is spotted, although words such as HAND and CELL can initially encourage unrelated associations with films or television.
Purple: Homophones of Synonyms for “Vend”
CELL, HOCK, PEDAL, TRAYED
This is the most technical group. The entries are not the selling words themselves; they are words that sound like them:
| Grid entry | Sound-alike | Connection |
|---|---|---|
| CELL | sell | to sell or vend |
| HOCK | hawk | to hawk or offer goods for sale |
| PEDAL | peddle | to sell, especially by going from place to place |
| TRAYED | trade | to trade or exchange goods |
TRAYED is the word most likely to look like an error. Its spelling is essential: it is meant to sound like trade. Likewise, PEDAL points to peddle, not to a cycling-related category. “Hock” can also mean to pawn or sell something, while “hawk” is the sound-based route intended by this group.
How the puzzle’s misdirection works
The grid uses several plausible decoys. SKATE looks like it belongs beside DODGE, PICKLE and RACQUET because all can suggest sports. HAND might also seem connected to movement or body parts before “ball” completes the phrase.
The purple set is designed to resist a purely visual solve. CELL, HOCK, PEDAL and TRAYED do not share an obvious meaning or grammatical form. Reading them aloud reveals the category: sell, hawk, peddle and trade. Once that group is identified, the remaining actor names and “-ball” compounds are much easier to separate.
Quick answer key
| Color | Category | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | GLIDE | BREEZE, COAST, FLOAT, SKATE |
| Green | Words Before “Ball” in Sports | DODGE, HAND, PICKLE, RACQUET |
| Blue | Prolific Actors | BACON, CAGE, CRUISE, FORD |
| Purple | Homophones of Synonyms for “Vend” | CELL, HOCK, PEDAL, TRAYED |
FAQ
What are the answers to NYT Connections #860 for October 18, 2025?
The groups are GLIDE; Words Before “Ball” in Sports; Prolific Actors; and Homophones of Synonyms for “Vend.”
What is the purple group in Connections #860?
The purple group is Homophones of Synonyms for “Vend”: CELL/sell, HOCK/hawk, PEDAL/peddle and TRAYED/trade.
Why is TRAYED in the October 18 Connections puzzle?
TRAYED is included because it sounds like “trade,” a word connected with selling or exchanging goods. The spelling is intentionally TRAYED, not TRADE.
Best Value
What is the green group in Connections #860?
The green group is Words Before “Ball” in Sports: DODGEball, HANDBall, PICKLEball and RACQUETball.
The Bottom Line
NYT Connections #860’s four groups are GLIDE—BREEZE, COAST, FLOAT, SKATE; Words Before “Ball” in Sports—DODGE, HAND, PICKLE, RACQUET; Prolific Actors—BACON, CAGE, CRUISE, FORD; and Homophones of Synonyms for “Vend”—CELL, HOCK, PEDAL, TRAYED.
Quick Recap
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