Pinpoint Answer

The answer for Pinpoint on Aug 27, #849 is

This sea dweller can adjust its appearance to blend in, signal, or surprise predators 🌊
This northern mammal adopts different coats as the seasons turn, helping it stay concealed in each landscape ❄️
This finger-worn novelty responds to body warmth, producing different hues as conditions fluctuate 💍
As daylight shortens and temperatures cool, trees put on warm seasonal hues before shedding their canopy 🍂
This reptile can alter its appearance for camouflage, communication, and temperature regulation 🦎

Words & how they fit

Each clue and why it belongs in the category

  • Octopuses

    Chromatophores expanding and contracting

    Specialized skin cells let octopuses alter their color and patterns.

  • Arctic hares (twice a year)

    Seasonal molt from brown to white

    Arctic hares change coat color to match summer and winter surroundings.

  • Mood rings

    Thermochromic liquid crystals reacting to body heat

    Heat-sensitive crystals make the ring display different colors.

  • Leaves (in autumn)

    Chlorophyll breaking down and revealing other pigments

    Leaves lose their green color as yellow, orange, and red pigments become visible.

  • Chameleons

    Skin pigments and nanocrystals shifting reflected light

    Chameleons can change the colors and patterns reflected by their skin.

How to Solve it

A step-by-step walkthrough of this puzzle

  1. 1

    Camouflage Clues 🐙

    Octopuses and Arctic hares both suggest animals changing their appearance to blend into their surroundings. The Arctic hare's twice-yearly coat change makes that reading especially convincing.

  2. 2

    Mood Ring Turn 💍

    Mood rings are not animals and do not use camouflage. Their color response points instead to a broader pattern involving changes caused by heat or other conditions.

  3. 3

    Five Color Shifters 🎨

    Autumn leaves change as chlorophyll breaks down, while chameleons shift their skin colors. Together with the first three clues, they confirm the category.

The pattern

Things that change colors.

Recent Pinpoint Answers

The last 7 days of solutions

Aug 29· #851

Tents
Skiers
Barber shops
Olympic vaulters
Flags (as attached here: 🏁)
All associated with poles

Aug 28· #850

Will
Trade
Rein
Speech
As a bird
Words that come after “free”

Aug 27· #849

Octopuses
Arctic hares (twice a year)
Mood rings
Leaves (in autumn)
Chameleons
Things that change colors

Aug 26· #848

Twist
Floss
Robot
Moonwalk
Macarena
Names of dance crazes (with "The")

Aug 25· #847

Impact
Courier
Wingdings
Lucida Handwriting
Calibri or Aptos (in MS Office)
Names of fonts

Aug 24· #846

Krait
Copperhead
Python
Viper
Boa constrictor
Types of snake

Aug 23· #845

Tank
Piece
Twice
Out loud
Outside the box
Words that come after “think”

What connects Octopuses, Arctic hares (twice a year), Mood rings, Leaves (in autumn) and Chameleons? That's Pinpoint #849, the LinkedIn puzzle from Thursday, August 27th, 2026. Tap any clue above to open a nudge for that word, read the final hint if you want one more push, then reveal the category. Below the answer there's a full walkthrough: the wrong turn these clues invite, the clue that breaks it open, and what each word actually pairs with.

What connects Octopuses, Arctic hares (twice a year), Mood rings, Leaves (in autumn) and Chameleons?

The answer to Pinpoint #849 is Things that change colors. Every clue in the set — Octopuses, Arctic hares (twice a year), Mood rings, Leaves (in autumn) and Chameleons — belongs to “Things that change colors”, which is the thread you're looking for.

If you got there in one or two clues, the giveaway was almost certainly Octopuses paired with Arctic hares (twice a year) — that combination rules out most of the categories a single word could belong to. The clue-by-clue breakdown above the fold shows exactly where each word lands.

How Pinpoint works

RuleDetail
GoalGuess the category that connects all five clue words (for example, “Apple, Dell, Acer, HP” → computer brands).
Clues reveal one at a timeYou start with one word and get another after each wrong guess, up to five — the fewer you need, the better your score.
GuessesType the category; the game tells you if you're right. You have a limited number of tries.
ResetA new Pinpoint puzzle drops every day at midnight Pacific Time (3:00 a.m. Eastern).

Solving a clue set like this one

  • Put the first two clues side by side before guessing anything. Octopuses on its own fits a dozen categories; Octopuses plus Arctic hares (twice a year) usually fits one or two.
  • If your first theory dies on clue three, don't patch it — throw it out. A theory that needs an exception for one clue is the wrong theory.
  • Check for a shared word before you check for a shared topic. Pinpoint loves sets where every clue sits in front of (or behind) the same hidden word.
  • Say each clue out loud. Homophones and phrases hide in plain sight when you only read them.

How Pinpoint scoring works

You see one clue to start and earn another after every wrong guess, up to five. Solving on clue one is the best possible result and solving on clue five still counts as a win, so there's no reason to rush a guess you're not confident in — a wrong answer costs you a clue you can't get back.

Other Pinpoint clue sets

Every Pinpoint puzzle has its own page here, filed under its clue words. Use the calendar above to jump to another day, or open the main Pinpoint answers page for the current puzzle.

Frequently asked questions

What connects Octopuses, Arctic hares (twice a year), Mood rings, Leaves (in autumn) and Chameleons?

They're all “Things that change colors” — the answer to Pinpoint #849 from Thursday, August 27th, 2026.

What was the Pinpoint #849 answer?

Things that change colors. The walkthrough under the answer explains why each of the five clues fits.

Why is Octopuses a clue for Things that change colors?

The clue-by-clue table above gives the exact pairing for Octopuses, along with the other four clues in the set.

How do I see today's Pinpoint answer instead?

Open the main LinkedIn Pinpoint answers page — it always shows the current day's clues, hints, and answer, plus a countdown to the next puzzle.