Keep Your Streak Going With These NYT Connections (#1,190) Hints, Clues, and Answers Today (September 13, 2026)

After seeing ‘Heathcliff’ in today’s Connections grid, your mind may have wandered towards Wuthering Heights, and soon hit a dead end. However, the puzzle does have something to do with ‘cliffs’ and ‘heights’. Don’t know what we’re talking about? You’ll soon find out. As you scroll down, you will see some general hints to help you crack the code. If that doesn’t work, we’ll reveal one word from each group, followed by the list of themes. Finally, the answers and their explanations will be waiting for you at the end of the page. So, let’s dive into all the hints, clues, and answers to today’s NYT Connections (#1,190, September 13, 2026). 

Read Also: Hindware Tablet Plug N Play 2-in-1 Convertible Chimney range launched in India

What is Connections?

After Wordle, Connections is the New York Times’ most popular word game. The rules are simple. You need to find words with a common theme and group them into 4 groups of 4. The 16-word grid is designed with an increasing level of difficulty. The Yellow group is the easiest to spot, followed by Green, Blue, and Purple. The misdirects and red herrings can trip you up, but they also make the puzzle more fun. You can play Connections in the NYT Games app or on the NYT website.

Some tips to solve Connections

Look for the obvious patterns: Not every category in the puzzle is confusing. The Yellow and Green category words are relatively easy to spot. However, if something seems too obvious, it could be a red herring. Typically, the first two categories comprise verbs and adjectives. The misdirects are often nouns.

Double-check your submissions: ‘Do not overthink’ is usually a good tip for solving most puzzles, but it doesn’t really apply to Connections. Before submitting a set of words, you should always check whether they fit somewhere else too.

Hit a dead end? Use the shuffle button: The shuffle button at the bottom of the grid exists for a reason. Placing the words in different positions can spark new connections. Think of it as a mental refresh. New patterns will emerge, and you may be able to find a breakthrough.

Tackle the Purple category with extra caution: The Connections team is known to serve up the toughest and most unexpected words for the Purple category. Here are some of the common tropes that you should look out for:

• Homophones (For example: ‘Where’, ‘Wear’, ‘Ware’, and ‘Weir’)
• Words within words (For example: ‘Slip’, ‘Hear’, ‘Keyes’, and ‘Undiagnosed’ could be ‘Words containing parts of the face’)
• Words minus a letter (For example: ‘Anther’, ‘Easel’, ‘Hark’, and ‘Lama’ could be ‘Animals minus starting letter’)
• Words preceded or followed by another word (For example: ‘Face’, ‘Sports’, ‘Note’, and ‘Year’ could be ‘____ Book’)

Here’s your grid for today

• PORRIDGE
• GARFIELD
• DROOPY
• EMPTY
• HEATHCLIFF
• EXCESS
• GRANT
• SLACK
• ODIE
• PARAMOUNT
• SAGGING
• MADISON
• FLACCID
• KEWPIE
• CLEVELAND
• DOUBLESPEAK

Hints for NYT Connections (#1,190) September 13, 2026

Let’s get you started with some general, spoiler-free hints.

• 🟡Yellow Group: Not rigid.
• 🟢Green Group: Heads of a specific state.
• 🔵Blue Group: Sounds like a fusion of alphabets.
• 🟣Purple Group: Landmass at a height.

One Word Per Category (Contains Spoilers)

Can’t seem to find an in? We’ll give you one word from each category.

• 🟡Yellow Group: Droopy.
• 🟢Green Group: Cleveland.
• 🔵Blue Group: Empty.
• 🟣Purple Group: Doublespeak.

List of Themes (Major Spoilers)

Maybe getting to know the common themes among the words will help you spot them faster. Here are all the categories for today.

• 🟡Yellow Group: Lacking In Firmness.
• 🟢Green Group: U.S. Presidents.
• 🔵Blue Group: Words That Sound Like Two Letters.
• 🟣Purple Group: Ending In Elevated Landforms.

Answers to NYT Connections (#1,190) Today (September 13, 2026)

Close to waving the white flag? Fine, we’ll give you the answers.

• 🟡Yellow Group: Droopy, Flaccid, Sagging, Slack. (Lacking In Firmness)

These words are used to describe something that’s loose or flexible.

• 🟢Green Group: Cleveland, Garfield, Grant, Madison. (U.S. Presidents)

Grover Cleveland. James A. Garfield. Ulysses S. Grant. James Madison.

• 🔵Blue Group: Empty, Excess, Kewpie, Odie. (Words That Sound Like Two Letters)

Empty (MT). Excess (XS). Kewpie (QP). Odie (OD).

• 🟣Purple Group: Doublespeak, Heathcliff, Paramount, Porridge. (Ending In Elevated Landforms)

Doubles-peak. Heath-cliff. Para-mount. Por-ridge.

Answers to yesterday’s puzzle (#1,189, September 12, 2026)

• 🟡Yellow Group: Bumper Sticker, Fuzzy Dice, Hood Ornament, Vanity Plate. (Ways To Personalize A Car)
• 🟢Green Group: Lurker, Poster, Spammer, Troll. (People In An Online Forum)
• 🔵Blue Group: Cursor, Eyelids, Smoke Detector, Turn Signal. (Things That Blink)
• 🟣Purple Group: Nerd, Red, Spoiler, Weather. (___ Alert)

Answers to NYT Connections #1,188 (September 11, 2026)

• 🟡Yellow Group: Band, Florist, Photographer, Planner. (People Hired For An Event)
• 🟢Green Group: Absorb, Process, Digest, Take In. (Internalize)
• 🔵Blue Group: Exercise, Journal, Meditate, Unplug. (Ways To Practice Self-Care)
• 🟣Purple Group: Agenda, Envelope, Limits, Luck. (Things That Are Pushed Metaphorically)

Answers to NYT Connections #1,187 (September 10, 2026)

• 🟡Yellow Group: Actinium, Krypton, Lead, Sulfur. (Chemical Elements)
• 🟢Green Group: Air Conditioner, Catio, Clothesline, Flower Box. (What You Might See Sticking Out Of A Window)
• 🔵Blue Group: Atlantic City, Badlands, Born To Run, Thunder Road. (Bruce Springsteen Classics)
• 🟣Purple Group: Adult Contemporary, Alternating Current, Represent, Sextant (Ending In Synonyms For ‘Happening Now’)

Read Also: Top 10 Apps to Get the Best Out of Your iPhone Duo 

How did other Connectors do today?

NYT’s early testers rated today’s Connections puzzle 2.2 out of 5. This puts it in the medium difficulty level. Let us know how you fared in the comments!