What is the Word Groups answer for October 23, 2026?

The answer to Word Groups puzzle #81 is TYPES OF FOOTWEAR · SPICES · ___ BOX · WORDS HIDING HIP.

Can I still play the Word Groups puzzle from October 23, 2026?

Yes. Every puzzle stays playable in the archive, so you can open puzzle #81 and solve it yourself at any time.

How do I know a word belongs to only one group?

Because every board is vetted before it ships. All sixteen words must be distinct, and no two categories on the same board may share a tag, so you never face two groups that could each legitimately claim the same word. If a word seems to fit twice, one of the two readings is the trap and the other is the answer.

Are the four groups equally hard?

No, and that is deliberate. Each board takes one group from each of four difficulty bands. Band one is a plain everyday category, band two is narrower, and bands three and four are wordplay — hidden words, prefixes and suffixes, homophones and anagrams. They are shown easiest first on the answer page.

How many wrong guesses do I get?

Four lives. A wrong group costs one; three correct groups mean the last four words are handed to you. Because guessing is punished and the easy group is genuinely easy, the smart order is almost always easiest first.

Friday, October 23, 2026 · Puzzle #81

Word Groups hints and answer for October 23, 2026

The hints run vaguest to plainest — take the smallest one that unsticks you. Not played it yet? Start puzzle #81, about 6 minutes.

Play puzzle #81 How Word Groups works

At a glance

Word Groups #81 in brief

The sixteen tiles, in board order: SLIPPER, NUTMEG, SANDAL, PAPRIKA, MAIL, CUMIN, SNEAKER, JUKE, GINGER, CHIPS, WHIPPED, CHIPMUNK, BOOT, SHIPMENT, SAND, TOOL.
They run from 4 to 8 letters.
8 of them share a first letter with at least one other tile, which is exactly the kind of coincidence a setter plants on purpose.

Step by step

Word Groups hints

Each hint reveals a little more than the last. Open only as many as you need.

Hint 1
Hint 2
Hint 3
Hint 4 — the big one

Spoiler

Word Groups answer

Last chance to go back and try a hint instead.

Full solution

The other nine answers

Word Guess answer — October 23, 2026 Mini Crossword answer — October 23, 2026 Daily Sudoku answer — October 23, 2026 Nonogram answer — October 23, 2026 Math Guess answer — October 23, 2026 Word Ladder answer — October 23, 2026 Trivia Five answer — October 23, 2026 Word Search answer — October 23, 2026 Anagram Rush answer — October 23, 2026

Play something else

Word GuessSix tries, five letters, one new word every day.Mini CrosswordTen clues, a 5x5 grid, and about five minutes.Word LadderChange one letter at a time. Every step has to be a real word.Word SearchTen themed words hidden in a 12x12 grid. Some of them backwards.