Connections Hint Today: Wednesday, September 30, 2026

How Connections works

Connections gives you 16 words to sort into four groups of four that share something in common. Select four words and submit: you can make four mistakes. Each group has a colour showing its difficulty: yellow is the most straightforward, then green and blue, and purple is usually the trickiest, often wordplay.

How to use these hints

1. Try the group checker first: tap four words and press Check. It tells you if they’re a group, or “so close” when three of the four belong together, without revealing anything else.
2. Start with the yellow group’s hint: one of its words is shown, so you know where to begin.
3. Still stuck? Reveal the category name. Knowing the theme usually makes the other three words clear.
4. Reveal the full group only if you need it, then move on to the next colour.

Strategy tips for Connections

• Look for red herrings. Usually five or more words seem to fit one theme, but only four belong. Find a word that can only go in one group first.
• Think beyond meanings. Purple groups often use wordplay: hidden words, words that go before or after another word, homophones or anagrams.
• Solve the hardest group last. Once three groups are done, the last four words are what’s left.
• Not sure what a word means? Look it up in the Online Dictionary: a less common meaning is often the key.

Source: Connections is a puzzle game by The New York Times, and Connections is its trademark. Puzzle details come from the game’s public daily puzzle. The hints and explanations on this page are our own. This site is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by The New York Times. Play the puzzle on the NYT Games site or app.

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