Today's NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 26, #868

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Today's NYT Connections puzzle has a diverse mix of topics. I laughed out loud at the green category. As a Gen Xer, I remember actually singing a song about that topic in music class back in the day. Today's categories are 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

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: Music.

Green group hint: The Greatest.

Blue group hint: Time to compete.

Purple group hint: Teeny tiny.

Yellow group: Kinds of instruments.

Green group: Words in a famous Muhammad Ali quote.

Blue group: Kinds of contests.

Purple group: Words with diminutive suffixes.

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

The theme is kinds of instruments. The four answers are brass, percussion, string and wind.

The theme is words in a famous Muhammad Ali quote. The four answers are bee, butterfly, float and sting.

The theme is kinds of contests. The four answers are beauty, popularity, staring and talent.

The theme is words with diminutive suffixes. The four answers are doggy, droplet, kitchenette and starling.