Use These Hints, Clues, and Answers to Solve NYT Connections (#1,193) Today (September 16, 2026)

Today’s Connections puzzle is a tricky customer. Instead of a direct theme, most of the groups today use some sort of wordplay. To help you get the win today, we’ve collected some valuable spoiler-free hints for every category. If they don’t help, we’ve also got one word from each group and the list of themes. Finally, the answers and their explanations are mentioned at the end of the page. So, without further ado, here are all the hints, clues, and answers you need to solve NYT Connections today (#1,193, September 16, 2026). 

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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

• FRANK-N-FURTER
• LATIN
• CLINK
• PENNYWISE
• WADSWORTH
• NICKELODEON
• BORAT
• LONG JOHN SILVER
• ST. VINCENT
• STEAM IRON
• WIDENER
• DIMENSION
• QUARTERBACK
• CARLOS
• MARIGOLD
• BARRETT

Hints for NYT Connections (#1,193) September 16, 2026

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

• 🟡Yellow Group: The last parts of these words are found in the periodic table.
• 🟢Green Group: These words start with a denomination.
• 🔵Blue Group: Found in an English textbook.
• 🟣Purple Group: Meat delicacies commonly associated with Germany.

One Word Per Category (Contains Spoilers)

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

• 🟡Yellow Group: Latin.
• 🟢Green Group: Dimension.
• 🔵Blue Group: Barrett.
• 🟣Purple Group: Borat.

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: Ending In Metal Elements.
• 🟢Green Group: Starting With U.S. Coins.
• 🔵Blue Group: Poets’ Middle Names.
• 🟣Purple Group: Sausages Plus A Letter.

Answers to NYT Connections (#1,193) Today (September 16, 2026)

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

• 🟡Yellow Group: Latin, Long John Silver, Marigold, Steam Iron. (Ending In Metal Elements)

La-tin. Long John Silver. Mari-gold. Steam Iron.

• 🟢Green Group: Dimension, Nickelodeon, Pennywise, Quarterback. (Starting With U.S. Coins)

Dime-nsion. Nickel-odeon. Penny-wise. Quarter-back.

• 🔵Blue Group: Barrett, Carlos, St. Vincent, Wadsworth. (Poets’ Middle Names)

Elizabeth Barrett Browning. William Carlos Williams. Edna St. Vincent Millay. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

• 🟣Purple Group: Borat, Clink, Frank-N-Furter, Widener. (Sausages Plus A Letter)

Borat (Bratwurst). Clink (Hot link). Frank-N-Furter (Frankfurter Würstchen), Widener (Wiener).

Answers to yesterday’s puzzle (#1,192, September 15, 2026)

• 🟡Yellow Group: Coach, Direct, Guide, Train. (Instruct)
• 🟢Green Group: Handle, Lid, Spout, Whistle. (Parts Of A Whistling Kettle)
• 🔵Blue Group: Asset, Mole, Plant, Sleeper. (Undercover Operative)
• 🟣Purple Group: Caboose, December, Dessert, Epilogue. (Things That Appear At The End)

Answers to yesterday’s puzzle (#1,191, September 14, 2026)

• 🟡Yellow Group: Coot, Goose, Loon, Teal. (Waterbirds)
• 🟢Green Group: Canary, Rat, Snitch, Stoolie. (Informant)
• 🔵Blue Group: Bag, Cutlery, Stirrer, Straw. (Common Single-Use Plastic Items)
• 🟣Purple Group: Blue, Crab, Lemon, Wheat. (___ Grass)

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

• 🟡Yellow Group: Droopy, Flaccid, Sagging, Slack. (Lacking In Firmness)
• 🟢Green Group: Cleveland, Garfield, Grant, Madison. (U.S. Presidents)
• 🔵Blue Group: Empty, Excess, Kewpie, Odie. (Words That Sound Like Two Letters)
• 🟣Purple Group: Doublespeak, Heathcliff, Paramount, Porridge. (Ending In Elevated Landforms)

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How did other Connectors do today?

NYT’s early testers rated today’s Connections puzzle 2.1 out of 5. This puts it in the medium difficulty level. Let us know how you fared in the comments!