NYT Connections (#1,181) Complete Guide: Hints, Clues, and Answers Today (September 4, 2026)

Can’t find any breakthroughs in today’s Connections grid? It’s time to lock in and get the win. To help you along the way, we’ve curated some spoiler-free hints for you. If those don’t work, we’ll give you one word from each category. This will be followed by the list of themes. At the end of the page, you will find the answers and their explanations. So, let’s dive into the hints, clues, and answers to today’s NYT Connections (#1,181, September 4, 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

• MOON
• EYE
• PIZZA PIE
• THAT’S
• MORAY
• CANDY CORN
• ORANGE
• OPINE
• BOWLING BALL
• RIBBON
• CAKE DONUT
• CONGER
• CHERRY TOMATO
• STIED
• GULPER
• CRINGY

Hints for NYT Connections (#1,181) September 4, 2026

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

• 🟡Yellow Group: Same 3D shape.
• 🟢Green Group: Similar naming pattern.
• 🔵Blue Group: Different varieties of an aquatic animal.
• 🟣Purple Group: Hidden between words, these things are often worn with an outfit.

One Word Per Category (Contains Spoilers)

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

• 🟡Yellow Group: Bowling Ball.
• 🟢Green Group: Cake Donut.
• 🔵Blue Group: Conger.
• 🟣Purple Group: Cringy.

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: Spherical Things.
• 🟢Green Group: Food Whose Name Is Two Foods.
• 🔵Blue Group: Kinds Of Eels.
• 🟣Purple Group: Accessories Inside Starting And Ending Letters.

Answers to NYT Connections (#1,181) Today (September 4, 2026)

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

• 🟡Yellow Group: Bowling Ball, Eye, Moon, Orange. (Spherical Things)

There are other round things in today’s grid that may have tripped some folks up, but the three-dimensional shape of these items is the key differentiator.

• 🟢Green Group: Cake Donut, Candy Corn, Cherry Tomato, Pizza Pie. (Food Whose Name Is Two Foods)

Today’s Green group is pretty self-explanatory. All of these are food items whose names are made up of two foods.

• 🔵Blue Group: Conger, Gulper, Moray, Ribbon. (Kinds Of Eels)

If you don’t know a lot about eels, today’s Blue group must have been the hardest to solve. These are all different varieties of eels. 

• 🟣Purple Group: Cringy, Opine, Stied, That’s. (Accessories Inside Starting And Ending Letters)

C-ring-y. O-pin-e. S-tie-d. T-hat-’s.

Answers to yesterday’s puzzle (#1,180, September 3, 2026)

• 🟡Yellow Group: Blink, Flash, Heartbeat, Trice. (Two Shakes Of A Lamb’s Tail)
• 🟢Green Group: Carmine, Cinnabar, Maroon, Vermillion. (Shades Of Red)
• 🔵Blue Group: Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Micro Machines, Tonka. (Toy Car Brands)
• 🟣Purple Group: Average, Count, Max, Sum. (Spreadsheet Functions)

Answers to NYT Connections #1,179 (September 2, 2026)

• 🟡Yellow Group: Dazzle, Floor, Stun, Wow. (Flabbergast)
• 🟢Green Group: Bow, Mute, Rosin, Shoulder Rest. (Things In A Violin Case)
• 🔵Blue Group: Hunting, Rescue, Sausage, Sheep. (___ Dogs (That Are Dogs))
• 🟣Purple Group: Corn, Prairie, Salty, Top. (___ Dogs (That Aren’t Dogs))

Answers to NYT Connections #1,178 (September 1, 2026)

• 🟡Yellow Group: Cross My Heart, For Real, On God, Pinky Swear (“I Promise!”)
• 🟢Green Group: Arrow, Golf Club, Pick-up Stick, Spaghetto. (Long, Skinny Things Often Seen Together)
• 🔵Blue Group: Hercule Poirot, Mike Hammer, Sam Spade, Sherlock Holmes. (Private Investigators Of Fiction)
• 🟣Purple Group: Aimee Mann, Hope Diamond, Planetarium, Wishy-Washy. (Staring With Words Of Intention)

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How did other solvers do today?

NYT’s early testers rated today’s Connections puzzle 3.5 out of 5. This puts it in the hard difficulty level. Let us know how you fared in the comments!