Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is clean, practical, and quietly satisfying — four categories that reward the kind of calm pattern-spotting you already do in your sleep. Two groups are literal (things you pay for monthly, types of ants), one is about making something fit, and the last is a fill-in phrase where copy + word clicks into place. Start with the obvious picture, build momentum, and enjoy the tiny victory when the board lights up.

NYT Connections Puzzle Overview: 22 October 2025

NYT Connections Hints: 22 October 2025

Category 1:
  • The power that keeps your lights on.
  • The fuel that heats many homes and runs stoves.
  • The service you call when your internet is down (old-school version).
  • The essential service that comes through pipes.
Category 2:
  • To craft something so it fits just right — often used for clothes.
  • To form or give a particular shape to something.
  • To change something’s form so it suits a purpose.
  • To create or fashion something intentionally to meet requirements.
Category 3:
  • The industrious building insect whose name matches a profession.
  • The tiny soldier insects that operate in large organized groups.
  • The fire-loving variety that can bite or sting and shows up in wood piles.
  • A regal-sounding ant with an ancient name tied to Egyptian royalty.
Category 4:
  • A playful internet term for a repeated message you see again and again (copy + ?).
  • The word that makes a pastry or noodle joke when added to “copy.”
  • Add to “copy” to form the term for exclusive intellectual property rights.
  • Add to “copy” to get a profession that produces text for a living.

NYT Connections Answers: 22 October 2025

Category 1:
Category 2:
Category 3:
Category 4:

Conclusion & Quick Strategy Tip

This round rewarded literal thinking and a little phrase intuition — concrete services and species, word forms that mean “adapt,” and a satisfying “copy + word” set that’s all about language.

Lock in the Utilities and Ants first — they’re pictureable and immediate. The adapt-to-fit verbs follow when you think of making something suit a purpose. Save the fun “copy ___” fill-in for last; once you get one (hello, copycat), the rest falls into place.