Below: the Melio Connections puzzle for Sunday, October 11, 2026, a progressive hint ladder so you can work toward the solution without spoiling it, and the full color-coded grouping if you want the answer outright.
Heads up: Melio’s Connections grids are independently authored. The answers for Sunday, October 11, 2026 below are the Melio answers, not the NYT ones.
The 16 words
COCOA
JUPITER
APOLLO
PLUTO
MARS
SATURN
TUBA
BROTH
TROMBONE
NEPTUNE
VENUS
HORN
MERCURY
TODDY
TRUMPET
CIDER
Hint ladder
Spoiler warning
Stage 1: letter spread
Today's 16 words are spread across the alphabet. The most common starting letters are T (4×), M (2×), C (2×), V (1×).
Stage 2: yellow theme
The yellow group's theme is "Planets". That's the easiest grouping; pick the four words that fit and you're a quarter of the way through.
Stage 3: yellow group reveal
The four yellow words are: MERCURY, VENUS, MARS, SATURN.
MERCURYVENUSMARSSATURN
Stage 4: all four themes
The four categories, in order from easiest to hardest, are: Yellow (easiest): "Planets" · Green: "Roman gods" · Blue: "Hot drinks" · Purple (trickiest): "Brass instruments".
Stage 5: full solution
Below is the full grouping; each row is one category.