Below: the Melio Connections puzzle for Sunday, October 25, 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 25, 2026 below are the Melio answers, not the NYT ones.
The 16 words
ORANGE
LAKE
BAY
NET
SERVE
JUICE
GRAPEFRUIT
SAUCE
LEMON
SEA
CORE
POND
LOVE
PIE
LIME
ACE
Hint ladder
Spoiler warning
Stage 1: letter spread
Today's 16 words are spread across the alphabet. The most common starting letters are L (4×), S (3×), P (2×), O (1×).
Stage 2: yellow theme
The yellow group's theme is "Citrus fruits". 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: LEMON, LIME, ORANGE, GRAPEFRUIT.
LEMONLIMEORANGEGRAPEFRUIT
Stage 4: all four themes
The four categories, in order from easiest to hardest, are: Yellow (easiest): "Citrus fruits" · Green: "Tennis terms" · Blue: "Apple ___" · Purple (trickiest): "Bodies of water".
Stage 5: full solution
Below is the full grouping; each row is one category.