Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 9, #851

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Oct. 9, #851.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle has a diverse mix of topics. They’re not too tough, but if you need help, you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Made up.

Green group hint: Agate is one.

Blue group hint: Journalism-related items.

Purple group hint: Think Pac-Man or Donkey Kong.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Fantasy.

Green group: Kinds of rocks.

Blue group: News article features.

Purple group: Title figures in classic video games.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is fantasy. The four answers are fancy, fiction, figment and invention.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is kinds of rocks. The four answers are flint, limestone, marble and slate.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is news article features. The four answers are caption, dateline, lede and photo.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is title figures in classic video games. The four answers are gorilla, hedgehog, plumber and princess.

Technologies

Starlink Extends ‘Free’ Hurricane Relief Internet to the End of the Year

Technologies

Get Ready for A Minecraft Movie 2: A Sequel Film Is in the Works

Fans and chicken jockeys alike will have to wait until 2027 to return to the world of the popular game.

Stay in practice, chicken jockeys. Warner Bros. has greenlit a sequel to A Minecraft Movie, according to Variety. The follow-up to the hit live-action video game adaptation will premiere in theaters on July 23, 2027.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Plot details and casting are still unknown. The X account for Minecraft teased the news with a poster and the caption «building terrain.» The director of the first Minecraft movie, Jared Hess, will direct and co-write the screenplay for Minecraft 2 with Chris Galletta, according to Variety.

Building terrain. See you in theaters July 23 2027. #Minecraft pic.twitter.com/VqJSknMh0I

— Minecraft (@Minecraft) October 9, 2025

The first Minecraft film debuted in theaters in March and started streaming on HBO Max, then called Max, in June. A Minecraft Movie grossed $957 million globally, according to Box Office Mojo. Block Party screenings, where fans were encouraged to shout out popular lines, were held after certain scenes from the film — including one featuring a Chicken Jockey — went viral.

The story follows protagonists who end up in a world different from their own that thrives on imagination. The movie’s star-studded cast includes Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Hansen and Jennifer Coolidge.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 10 #586

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 10, No. 586.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle might make you hungry. Some of the answers are a bit tough to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: I’m a ladle hungry

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Spoon it up

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

RATE, GOUT, TOUT, LONE, WETS, GATE, PLANE, MINE, GAMINE

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers: