The NYT Connections puzzle for September 26, 2026, is number 1203. This daily word game challenges players to find the hidden threads connecting 16 different words by sorting them into four distinct groups of four.
If you are looking for a nudge in the right direction without seeing the full solutions immediately, these progressive hints will help you narrow down today’s themes.
Connections Hints for September 26
The words in today’s grid range from literal hygiene products to specific terminology used in woodworking. Here are some clues to help you group them:
- Yellow Hint (Easy): Think about items you might carry in your pocket or keep in a bathroom cabinet to ensure your breath stays fresh.
- Green Hint (Medium): These are specific steps or services you would expect when taking a professional garment to a dry cleaner or laundry service.
- Blue Hint (Technical): This group focuses on the physical patterns and growths found in timber.
- Purple Hint (Hard/Idiomatic): These words don’t seem related until you place a specific “temperature” adjective in front of them to complete a common phrase.
Additional Theme Clues
For the Blue group, look closely at the texture and age markers of a tree. For the Purple group, think of expressions used to describe someone who is very calm or phrases used to indicate something is satisfactory.
Connections Answers for September 26
SPOILER WARNING: The full solutions for puzzle #1203 follow below. Do not read further if you want to keep solving on your own.
Yellow: Breath Fresheners
- GUM
- MINT
- MOUTHWASH
- SPRAY
This is the most straightforward category of the day, consisting of literal items used for oral hygiene.
Green: Things Done to a Dress Shirt at the Laundry
- FOLD
- PRESS
- STARCH
- WASH
These are process-based words that describe the standard treatment for professional garment care.
Blue: Features of Wood
- BURL
- GRAIN
- KNOTS
- RINGS
This technical category focuses on the natural characteristics and growth patterns of wood. A burl is a tree growth in which the grain has grown in a deformed manner, while rings indicate the age of the tree.
Purple: “Cool” Things, in Expressions
- BEANS
- CAT
- CUCUMBER
- CUSTOMER
This idiomatic group relies on wordplay. Each word follows the word “Cool” to form a well-known expression: Cool beans (slang for great), Cool cat (a stylish person), Cool as a cucumber (very calm), and Cool customer (someone who remains steady under pressure).
If you are looking for more help with New York Times games, the NYT Connections Bot provides a numeric score and analyzes your answers to show how your logic compares to other players, similar to the functionality of the Wordle Bot. For a look at previous challenges, check out #1201.
