NYT Connections Answers Today, September 19

Regularly updated NYT Connections Answers Today September 19, 2026

Connections has a habit of looking solved right up until it isn’t. Below are spoiler-free hints for the four groups on September 19, 2026, followed by the full category list and answers hidden behind one click. Updated every day as soon as the new grid goes live.

NYT Connections Answers Today card showing a four by four grid of coloured group tiles

Today's groups

WIDEN ONE'S SCOPE: BRANCH OUT, DIVERSIFY, EXPAND, GROW
FEATURES OF A KID'S DRAWING: HOUSE, STICK FIGURE, SUN, TREE
ASSOCIATED WITH SWINGING LONDON IN THE 1960S: CARNABY STREET, MINISKIRT, MOD, TWIGGY
STARTING WITH ABBREVIATED MATH FUNCTIONS: COS LETTUCE, LOG CABIN, SIN CITY, TAN LINE

Next Connections releases in

--Days

--Hours

--Mins

--Secs

Work through it in the right order

The hints above describe each group without naming a single word. Read only the colour you’re stuck on — they’re listed easiest to hardest, matching the puzzle’s own yellow, green, blue, purple difficulty ladder.

If you’d rather see the group names but keep guessing the words yourself, the category titles sit above the answers in the block. The full solution only appears when you press Answer.

Yesterday’s Connections answers

The groups and solution for September 18, 2026:

Today's groups

SEGMENT OF A PROCESS: PHASE, ROUND, STAGE, STEP
ASSORTMENTS OF FOOD/DRINK: FLIGHT, MEDLEY, PLATTER, SAMPLER
PARTS OF A FLIGHT: BOARDING, CRUISE, LANDING, TAKEOFF
___CASE: BRIEF, PILLOW, STAIR, UPPER

Connections answers from the past week

Date	Answer
September 18	SEGMENT OF A PROCESS: PHASE, ROUND, STAGE, STEP / ASSORTMENTS OF FOOD/DRINK: FLIGHT, MEDLEY, PLATTER, SAMPLER / PARTS OF A FLIGHT: BOARDING, CRUISE, LANDING, TAKEOFF / ___CASE: BRIEF, PILLOW, STAIR, UPPER
September 17	ELASTICITY: BOUNCE, FLEXIBILITY, GIVE, SPRING / THINGS THAT ARE UNDERGROUND: MINE SHAFT, SEWER LINE, SUBWAY STATION, WELL / HUGH JACKMAN MOVIES, WITH "THE": FOUNTAIN, PRESTIGE, SHEEP DETECTIVES, WOLVERINE / LOVE ___: HANDLES, LANGUAGE, TAP, TRIANGLE
September 16	ENDING IN METAL ELEMENTS: LATIN, LONG JOHN SILVER, MARIGOLD, STEAM IRON / STARTING WITH U.S. COINS: DIMENSION, NICKELODEON, PENNYWISE, QUARTERBACK / POETS' MIDDLE NAMES: BARRETT, CARLOS, ST. VINCENT, WADSWORTH / SAUSAGES PLUS A LETTER: BORAT, CLINK, FRANK-N-FURTER, WIDENER
September 15	INSTRUCT: COACH, DIRECT, GUIDE, TRAIN / PARTS OF A WHISTLING KETTLE: HANDLE, LID, SPOUT, WHISTLE / UNDERCOVER OPERATIVE: ASSET, MOLE, PLANT, SLEEPER / THINGS THAT APPEAR AT THE END: CABOOSE, DECEMBER, DESSERT, EPILOGUE
September 14	WATERBIRDS: COOT, GOOSE, LOON, TEAL / INFORMANT: CANARY, RAT, SNITCH, STOOLIE / COMMON SINGLE-USE PLASTIC ITEMS: BAG, CUTLERY, STIRRER, STRAW / ___GRASS: BLUE, CRAB, LEMON, WHEAT
September 13	LACKING IN FIRMNESS: DROOPY, FLACCID, SAGGING, SLACK / U.S. PRESIDENTS: CLEVELAND, GARFIELD, GRANT, MADISON / WORDS THAT SOUND LIKE TWO LETTERS: EMPTY, EXCESS, KEWPIE, ODIE / ENDING IN ELEVATED LANDFORMS: DOUBLESPEAK, HEATHCLIFF, PARAMOUNT, PORRIDGE
September 12	WAYS TO PERSONALIZE A CAR: BUMPER STICKER, FUZZY DICE, HOOD ORNAMENT, VANITY PLATE / PEOPLE IN AN ONLINE FORUM: LURKER, POSTER, SPAMMER, TROLL / THINGS THAT BLINK: CURSOR, EYELIDS, SMOKE DETECTOR, TURN SIGNAL / ___ ALERT: NERD, RED, SPOILER, WEATHER

How Connections works

You get a 4×4 grid of sixteen words and must sort them into four groups of four that share something in common. You have four lives; every incorrect set of four costs one. Guess all four groups before you run out and you keep your streak.

The colours reveal themselves as you solve, and they’re ranked by difficulty:

Yellow — the most straightforward, usually a plain category.
Green — still direct, but with one or two words that could sit elsewhere.
Blue — needs a bit of lateral thinking.
Purple — almost always wordplay: hidden words, homophones, or “___ + a word”.

A new grid appears at midnight local time. Connections launched in June 2023 and has become the second most-played game in the NYT Games app after Wordle.

Four tactics that save lives for NYT Connections Answers Today

Solve purple first, not last. This feels backwards, but the purple group is usually the most rigid — it’s a mechanical trick rather than a theme. If you can spot that four words all contain hidden body parts, or all become new words with an added letter, you remove the four most disruptive tiles from the board.

Distrust the obvious category. If five or six words look like they fit one theme, at least one is a decoy planted in another group. That over-full category is the puzzle telling you where the trap is.

Count the overlaps before you commit. Every grid contains words that plausibly belong to two groups. Work out which group has no alternative home for its fourth word, and lock that one in first.

Use “shuffle” seriously. Rearranging the grid breaks the visual grouping your brain built on the first look. It’s the cheapest way to escape a wrong idea you’ve become attached to.

Frequently asked questions

What time does Connections reset?
Midnight in your local time zone, the same as Wordle. The timer above counts down on your own clock.

How many mistakes am I allowed?
Four. The fourth incorrect guess ends the puzzle and reveals the groups.

What does “one away” mean?
Three of your four words belong together and one doesn’t. It’s the most useful message in the game — swap a single word rather than rebuilding the whole group.

Is purple always the hardest?
By design, yes, but not always in practice. If the purple trick clicks immediately, it can be the fastest group on the board.

Can I play previous Connections puzzles?
Yes, through the NYT Games archive with a subscription. The list above covers the past week for free.

NYT Connections Answers Today: Hints and Groups