Connections · Word
What Does BROAD BEAN Mean in Connections?
A broad bean is an edible fava bean. In Connections #1210, BROAD also points to The Broad, a museum in Los Angeles.
Published
The October 3 board uses familiar phrases and names whose opening words point to U.S. museums. BROAD BEAN is a food term, so The Broad is easy to miss.
What a broad bean means
A broad bean is an edible bean also called a fava bean. The name can refer to the bean or to the plant that grows it. The food definition explains the complete phrase on the tile.
Why the food definition is not enough
The October 3, 2026 puzzle asks you to consider parts of familiar names and expressions. BROAD ordinarily suggests width, but it can also be a proper name. That second reading does not turn the bean into another food or imply that all the related tiles are foods.
Puzzle explanation — contains spoilers
BROAD BEAN belongs to STARTING WITH U.S. MUSEUMS in Connections #1210. BROAD points to The Broad, a contemporary art museum in Los Angeles.
| Tile | Museum indicated by the opening |
|---|---|
| BROAD BEAN | The Broad |
| GETTY IMAGES | J. Paul Getty Museum |
| MET HALFWAY | The Metropolitan Museum of Art, known as The Met |
| WHITNEY HOUSTON | Whitney Museum of American Art |
The entries use recognizable museum names or shortened forms. They do not print all four institutions' full official names. GETTY IMAGES remains a company name in ordinary use, and MET remains a verb inside MET HALFWAY; the connection reinterprets those openings.
Knowing what a broad bean is solves the vocabulary question. Knowing The Broad explains why this particular tile fits the puzzle group. For another opening in this group, read the GETTY explanation.
SOURCES
Sources for this explanation
- NYT Connections official puzzle data, 2026-10-03 — board and accepted category.
- The Broad: About — museum name and location.