NYT Connections Hint & AnswersPuzzle #1194 · September 17, 2026
Stuck on today's NYT Connections puzzle? Get a single-word clue, a category hint, or the full answer for Puzzle #1194 — you choose exactly how much help you need.
Written by Hint Team · Updated September 17, 2026
Key Takeaways
- Puzzle #1194 (September 17, 2026) is rated Hard difficulty.
- 16 words sort into 4 hidden categories — Yellow (easiest) to Purple (hardest).
- Every word and every category has its own spoiler-free hint below.
- Full answers are revealed only when you tap to see them — nothing spoils automatically.
Today's Tip
Today's NYT Connections puzzle has a few tempting overlaps. SPRING, TAP, WELL, and FOUNTAIN can all make you think about water, but they do not belong together.
Hint For Each Word
Tap any tile to see what it means in today's puzzle — no spoilers.
Hints For All Four Categories
Ordered from easiest to hardest — reveal only as much as you need.
Traps & Misdirects
Words placed on purpose to mislead you — spot these before you burn a guess.
SPRING, TAP, FOUNTAIN, WELL
This is one of the biggest traps in today's Connections puzzle. All four can be associated with water, so they look like a natural group. But SPRING belongs with elasticity while FOUNTAIN belongs to the Hugh Jackman movie group. TAP is part of LOVE TAP and WELL belongs with things that are underground.
SPRING, WELL
Both can relate to natural water sources, which makes them easy to pair. The important difference is that SPRING has another meaning connected to elasticity while WELL belongs to the underground group.
FOUNTAIN, PRESTIGE, WOLVERINE
These words can look unrelated at first. Once you recognize that “The” goes before each one, the Hugh Jackman connection becomes much clearer.
SHEEP DETECTIVES, WELL
SHEEP DETECTIVES sounds like a funny description of animals rather than a film title. WELL can also look like a movie-related word because it has many meanings. Both can distract you from their actual groups.
LANGUAGE, TRIANGLE, TAP, HANDLES
None of these four words has an obvious connection by itself. The pattern appears only when you place LOVE before each word: love language, love triangle, love tap, and love handles.
GIVE, TAP, SPRING
GIVE and TAP are both ordinary verbs, while SPRING can be a noun or verb. Their everyday meanings can hide the more specific connection. GIVE belongs with elasticity because something can “give” under pressure.
Today's Full Answers
All four groups, revealed only when you're ready.
Answers are hidden by default so you can solve at your own pace. Tap below when you're ready to see everything.
Stuck on today's NYT Connections puzzle? Our Connections hints help you crack all 16 words into their four correct groups — without spoiling the fun. Start with gentle, spoiler-free clues, and only unlock more as you need them. We'll walk you step by step, from subtle hints to full category reveals and today's complete answers.
How to Use Our NYT Connections Hints
Every player gets stuck at a different point in the puzzle — knowing exactly where you're stuck is the fastest way to find the right hint. Match your situation below, use that hint, and get back to solving.
You Don't Recognize a Word's Meaning
Puzzle editor Wyna Liu often picks words with a specific or unusual meaning, especially in the green, blue, and purple groups. If you don't know what a word means in context, you can't confidently place it.
Use the Word Hint. It explains what that word means for today's puzzle. Just tap any word on the board to open its hint card.
None of the 16 Words Are Clicking Into Groups
Connections categories are built around a theme, not just word meaning — so the link between words isn't always obvious at first glance.
Use the Category Hint. It points you toward the theme of a group without naming the category or listing its words. Start with the Yellow Category Hint — yellow is always the easiest.
You Think You Have a Group, But You're Not Sure
A wrong guess costs you one of your four allowed mistakes, so it pays to confirm before you commit.
Use the Category Name. It reveals the exact name of a group without showing which words belong to it. If your guess matches, go for it; if not, you've dodged a mistake. Tap the color you're testing to see it.
A Word Seems to Fit More Than One Group
Wyna Liu deliberately plants misleading words that look like they belong in more than one category — these trip up more players than anything else in the puzzle.
Use the Traps and Misdirects Hint. It flags the tricky words in today's puzzle and explains why they don't belong where you'd expect.
You Know the Category, Just Not All the Words
You've spotted the theme but can't pin down every word that fits it.
Use the Word Reveal. It uncovers one word at a time, so you only see as much as you need — open your identified category and reveal words one by one until the group is complete.
What Is Connections by The New York Times?
Connections is The New York Times' daily word-grouping puzzle: sort 16 words into four hidden categories of four, without racking up four mistakes. Puzzle editor Wyna Liu created the game, and it launched in beta on June 12, 2023, quickly becoming the Times' second most-played game after Wordle.
Each puzzle rewards lateral thinking — words that look unrelated on the surface often share a clever, sometimes tricky, connection. Solve a group correctly, and Connections reveals its color, showing you exactly how difficult that link was.
Curious why we built a dedicated hint site instead of just answers? Read more about ConnectionsHint.
Created by Wyna Liu
NYT Games puzzle editor
Launched June 12, 2023
as a public beta
#2 most-played NYT game
right behind Wordle
The NYT Connections Group Colors
Every group is color-coded by difficulty, and the order never changes: yellow is always the easiest, purple is always the hardest, with green and blue in between.
Yellow groups have the most direct connection — think straightforward synonyms or “types of X.” If you're just starting out, this is the group to look for first.
Only need a gentle nudge? A Yellow hint is usually enough to point you the right way without spoiling anything.
How to Play NYT Connections
The rules are simple: you get 16 words, and your job is to sort them into four groups of four based on a shared connection — a category, theme, or wordplay link.
The Rules
- 1Scan all 16 words and look for patterns or shared meanings.
- 2Pick the four words you think belong together.
- 3Submit your guess.
- 4Guessed right? That group is removed from the board, color-coded by difficulty.
- 5Use the remaining words to spot the next group.
- 6Repeat until all four groups are solved.
- 7Watch your mistakes — you're allowed only four before the puzzle ends.
Four Mistakes Limit
Only four wrong guesses allowed. Solve Yellow and Green first — it makes Blue and Purple far easier, and saves your mistakes for when they count.
The Four Groups
Every puzzle has one of each — from easiest to hardest. See what each color usually hides ↓
Yellow
EasiestGreen
MediumBlue
HarderPurple
HardestHow to Solve the NYT Connections Puzzle Every Day
Some groups jump out at you; others are built to fool you. These strategies will help you spot both, no matter how tricky today's puzzle gets. Want a deeper breakdown of a specific puzzle? Check our strategy blog.
Start With the Obvious Group
Scan the board for words with the clearest shared meaning first — that's usually your Yellow or Green group. Locking one in early narrows the board and makes everything after it easier.
Let Elimination Do the Work
Every group you solve removes four words from the equation. Fewer words on the board means fewer possible combinations — so even a tough Purple category gets easier once the easy ones are out of the way.
Don't Fall for Red Herrings
Wyna Liu plants words that look like they fit two or three groups at once. If a word seems too convenient, pause — check whether the other three words actually support that connection, or if you're being led astray.
Look Past the Literal Meaning
Not every group is about definitions. The connection might be a phrase, a sound-alike, a hidden name, or a pun — so if the obvious meaning isn't working, try reading the words differently.
Draw on Pop Culture and General Knowledge
Movies, music, sports, brands, history, and celebrity names show up often in Connections. The wider your general knowledge, the faster these references click.
Sort by Word Type
Check whether a set of words shares a grammatical role — all names, all places, all verbs — that alone can hint at how a group is built.
Check for Shared Prefixes, Suffixes, or Roots
Some categories connect words that can all take the same prefix, suffix, or root. Try adding common word parts and see if a pattern forms.
Try the Fill-in-the-Blank Test
Drop each word into a common phrase or sentence structure. If several words complete the same phrase, that's likely your connection.
Slow Down Before You Guess
A group that looks right at first glance can still be a trap. Double-check your logic against all four words before submitting — you only get four mistakes, so make each one count.
Get to Know Your Trivia
According to Connections editor Wyna Liu, the Blue and Green groups are often the ones built around trivia and general knowledge — think file extensions, brand names, or "synonyms for" categories — rather than plain word meaning. That's exactly why brushing up on a few everyday topics can make these mid-tier groups click faster. Connections pulls from a wide range of subjects, so a bit of familiarity across the board goes a long way. Want more practice? Browse past puzzles in our archive:
Frequently Asked Questions
Today's Connections hints give you a small clue about each group without revealing the full answers right away. You can use them when you're stuck but still want to solve the puzzle yourself.
Still have a question, or spotted a mistake in today's puzzle? Get in touch.
