Wordle puzzle
Wordle puzzle

NEW YORK — The New York Times released a new Wordle puzzle at midnight local time Monday, starting the week with a familiar word that most players should be able to solve without too much trouble.

Puzzle No. 1948 is now available. Below are hints for players who want to solve it on their own, followed by the answer. Readers who want to avoid spoilers should stop before the answer section.

How Wordle works

Wordle challenges players to guess a five-letter word in six tries or fewer. After each guess, the tiles change color. A green tile means the letter is correct and in the right position. A yellow tile means the letter is in the word but in a different spot. A gray tile means the letter is not in the answer.

The puzzle resets at midnight in each player's local time zone.

How hard is today's puzzle?

Monday's puzzle is rated as moderately easy. The New York Times' internal testers scored it about 4 out of 6 in difficulty, meaning most players should solve it in around four guesses.

However, the word contains only one standard vowel and a less common consonant at the end, which could slow down some players.

Hints for Wordle No. 1948

These clues are listed from least to most revealing.

Hint 1: The word can be used as both a verb and a noun.

Hint 2: It relates to the sense of smell.

Hint 3: You might use it to describe a trash can that has been left full for too long.

Hint 4: The word has one vowel, and no letter appears more than once.

Hint 5: The answer starts with S and ends with K.

Strategy tips

Today's answer uses mostly common letters, so popular starting words that include S, T and N should quickly uncover several of them.

Once you have found the first few letters, think about common word endings. Many five-letter words end with a consonant pair such as "NK," "CK" or "NG," and testing those patterns can help narrow the possibilities.

Because the word contains only one vowel, players should focus on identifying it early and then work through the consonants. Be careful not to waste guesses on similar-sounding words that use a different vowel, a common trap with this type of word.

SPOILER WARNING: The answer is below.

Today's Wordle answer

The answer to Wordle No. 1948 on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, is STINK.

As a verb, the word means to have a strong, unpleasant smell. As a noun, it refers to a strong, offensive odor. It is also used informally to describe something of very poor quality or to mean a fuss or commotion, as in "to raise a stink."

The word comes from Old English and has been part of the language for more than 1,000 years.

Yesterday's answer

For players catching up, the answer to Wordle No. 1947 on Sunday, Oct. 18, was ADORN.

Recent Wordle answers

  • Oct. 18 (No. 1947): ADORN
  • Oct. 17 (No. 1946): GAFFE
  • Oct. 16 (No. 1945): SHADY
  • Oct. 15 (No. 1944): DUNCE
  • Oct. 14 (No. 1943): PSYCH
  • Oct. 13 (No. 1942): WIDER
  • Oct. 12 (No. 1941): YODEL
  • Oct. 11 (No. 1940): UNCAP
  • Oct. 10 (No. 1939): BUMPY
  • Oct. 9 (No. 1938): MAJOR

Repeat answers possible

The New York Times began reintroducing older words into Wordle's rotation on Feb. 2, 2026, starting with CIGAR, the game's first-ever answer. That means players should not rule out a word simply because it has appeared before.

About Wordle

Wordle was created by software engineer Josh Wardle and acquired by The New York Times in early 2022. Its once-a-day format and shareable grids of colored squares turned it into one of the most popular word games in the world.

Tips for future puzzles

Experienced players recommend using a consistent starting word and paying close attention to yellow tiles to eliminate letter positions. When several possible answers remain, using a guess to test multiple new letters can be more efficient than guessing a single likely word.

A new Wordle puzzle will be available at midnight local time.

Article 2

NYT Connections Today: Hints and Answers for Puzzle 1226 on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, With Hidden Birds Twist

NEW YORK — The New York Times released its latest Connections puzzle at midnight local time Monday, featuring words for anger, empty talk, fast food favorites and a purple category with birds hiding in plain sight.

Puzzle No. 1226 includes several words with overlapping meanings that could tempt players into the wrong groups. Below are hints for each category, followed by the full solution. Readers who want to avoid spoilers should stop before the answers section.

How Connections works

Connections presents a grid of 16 words that players must sort into four groups of four based on a shared theme. Each puzzle has only one correct solution.

The groups are color-coded by difficulty: yellow is the easiest, followed by green, blue and purple, the hardest. Players can make four mistakes before the game ends.

Today's words

The 16 words on Monday's board are: MOHAWK, MUFFIN, HOT AIR, BALLOON, RAVE, WIND, FLURRY, STEAM, GAS, RIB, FUME, ALIBIS, BOIL, BLATHER, ESCROW and NUGGETS.

Words such as BOIL, GAS and RIB each have more than one everyday meaning, so players should test each possibility before committing.

Hints for each category

Yellow: Ways to describe being really angry.

Green: Words for talk that has little substance.

Blue: Menu items at a famous fast food chain, each with a two-letter prefix.

Purple: Look at the end of each word for something with feathers.

One word from each group

  • Yellow: FUME
  • Green: BLATHER
  • Blue: MUFFIN
  • Purple: ESCROW

Watch out for these traps

The biggest trap involves words related to air and heat. STEAM, GAS, WIND and HOT AIR could all seem to belong together, but they are split between the anger and empty-talk categories.

HOT AIR and BALLOON may also look like a natural pair, but BALLOON belongs in the purple group. RAVE could suggest a party, but here it means to speak angrily.

SPOILER WARNING: The answers are below.

Today's Connections answers

The solution to NYT Connections No. 1226 on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, is:

Yellow — SEETHE: BOIL, FUME, RAVE, STEAM

Each word can describe being intensely angry, as in "boiling with rage" or "fuming."

Green — ALL TALK: BLATHER, GAS, HOT AIR, WIND

Each word describes empty or meaningless talk.

Blue — "MC" THINGS AT MCDONALD'S: FLURRY, MUFFIN, NUGGETS, RIB

Adding "Mc" to each word creates a McDonald's menu item: McFlurry, McMuffin, McNuggets and McRib.

Purple — ENDING IN BIRDS: ALIBIS, BALLOON, ESCROW, MOHAWK

Each word ends with the name of a bird: IBIS in ALIBIS, LOON in BALLOON, CROW in ESCROW and HAWK in MOHAWK.

Why this puzzle can be tricky

Monday's puzzle relies on overlapping themes. Several words connected to heat and air could fit either the anger group or the empty-talk group, requiring careful sorting.

The purple category hides its connection at the end of each word, a common approach in the game's hardest group. Words such as ALIBIS and ESCROW, which seem unrelated to the other themes, may offer the first clue.

Solving the McDonald's group early can help, since it removes four words and leaves the remaining categories easier to separate.

About Connections

Connections launched in 2023 and is edited by Wyna Liu. It has become one of The New York Times' most popular daily games, alongside Wordle, Strands and the Mini Crossword.

Tips for future puzzles

When several words seem to share an obvious theme, look for a more specific connection. Hidden words at the beginning or end of entries are a frequent purple theme, and words that seem out of place often belong to the hardest category.

A new Connections puzzle will be available at midnight local time.