Stuck on today’s NYT Connections? The grid skews approachable if you spot the music thread and don’t get baited by paint color red herrings. Below are tiered hints, the full word list, then the categories and complete solutions for October 8, 2025.

Play or check your result on the official Connections page at nytimes.com/games/connections.

Note: Depending on time zone, the puzzle number you see may differ. The answers here match the October 8, 2025 edition.

Quick, non-spoiler hints

  • Yellow: Top quality.
  • Green: Guitar-heavy styles.
  • Blue: Wall finish options.
  • Purple: Things you sleep on (or that share that word).

Today’s 16-word board

CREAM ALTERNATIVE PEARL RIVER
BEST EGGSHELL OYSTER GARAGE
NAIL GLOSS SELECT ARENA
CLASSIC ELITE FLOWER MATTE

Category names (light spoilers)

  • Yellow: Finest
  • Green: Rock music subgenres
  • Blue: Paint finishes
  • Purple: Kinds of beds

Full answers for October 8

Category Words
Finest BEST, CREAM, ELITE, SELECT
Rock music subgenres ALTERNATIVE, ARENA, CLASSIC, GARAGE
Paint finishes EGGSHELL, GLOSS, MATTE, PEARL
Kinds of beds FLOWER, NAIL, OYSTER, RIVER

Why these groupings work

Finest: All four are common signals for top-tier quality. “Cream,” as in “the cream of the crop,” lines up with BEST, ELITE, and SELECT.

Rock music subgenres: ALTERNATIVE, ARENA, CLASSIC, and GARAGE each describe distinct rock movements you could find on radio lineups or compilation bins.

Paint finishes: EGGSHELL, GLOSS, MATTE, and PEARL are surface sheens you’ll see on paint cans and product spec sheets.

Kinds of beds: These pair naturally with “bed”: FLOWER bed, NAIL bed, OYSTER bed, and RIVER bed.

Strategy notes for this board

  • Don’t let paint-adjacent words throw you. CREAM and OYSTER often name paint colors, but only the finish types belong together.
  • If “PEARL” tempts you toward “OYSTER,” split them: PEARL is a sheen; OYSTER pairs with “bed.”
  • Synonyms are usually the easiest set. If BEST and ELITE jump out, scan for CREAM and SELECT to lock the yellow group.
  • For music, ALTERNATIVE and CLASSIC quickly anchor the category; ARENA and GARAGE complete it.

If you’re chasing a perfect “reverse rainbow,” the likely path today was Blue → Green → Yellow → Purple once the finishes snapped into place. New puzzle drops at local midnight—shuffle early, shuffle often.