Looking for the most recent NYT Connections puzzle answers? CNET publishes daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.
In Connections, you look at a grid of 16 words and pick four words that have a connection to each other. You do this four times until all 16 words in the puzzle are grouped. The tough part is that Times associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu chooses words that could fit in multiple groups. The obvious guess — hey! Those are four animals! — is almost always going to be wrong. I’ve compiled my favorite tips for Connections if you need a boost.
The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.
Today’s NYT Connections puzzle has an entertaining purple category, and it wasn’t too difficult (for a change). Read on for hints and today’s Connections answers.
Hints for today’s Connections groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Scope is one.
Green group hint: Looking sharp.
Blue group hint: Think trees.
Purple group hint: Not hot.
Read more: We Need to Talk About That Doggone Connections Puzzle
Answers for today’s Connections groups
Yellow group: Breath fresheners.
Green group: Things done to a dress shirt at the laundry.
Blue group: Features of wood.
Purple group: “Cool” things, in expressions.
What are today’s Connections answers?
The completed NYT Connections puzzle for Sept. 26, 2026.NYT/Screenshot by CNET
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is breath fresheners.
The four answers are gum, mint, mouthwash and spray.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is things done to a dress shirt at the laundry.
The four answers are fold, press, starch and wash.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is features of wood.
The four answers are burl, grain, knots and rings.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is “cool” things, in expressions.
The four answers are beans, cat, cucumber and customer.
Toughest Connections puzzles
We’ve made a note of some of the toughest Connections puzzles so far. Maybe they’ll help you see patterns in future puzzles.
#5: Included “things you can set,” such as mood, record, table and volleyball.
#4: Included “one in a dozen,” such as egg, juror, month and rose.
#3: Included “streets on screen,” such as Elm, Fear, Jump and Sesame.
#2: Included “power ___” such as nap, plant, Ranger and trip.
#1: Included “things that can run,” such as candidate, faucet, mascara and nose.
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of “Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the ’70s and ’80s,” as well as “The Totally Sweet ’90s.” She’s been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She’s Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she’ll be first in line.
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