The NYT Connections puzzle for September 8, 2026, is numbered 1185. Today’s challenge features a mix of automotive history, stage performance attire, and a particularly clever bit of wordplay involving confectionery brands.
Hints for Today’s Connections
If you prefer to find the groups yourself but need a push in the right direction, here are some broad hints for each category:
- Yellow: These are all high-powered vehicles produced by American manufacturers.
- Green: These items make up the classic wardrobe of a specific type of silent entertainer.
- Blue: Each of these words can be placed before a common biological organ to form a familiar phrase.
- Purple: This category requires looking at the words and removing the last letter to reveal a sweet treat.
Category Hints
- American Performance Cars: Think of classic muscle and sports cars like the Mustang.
- Mime Costume Features: What would you expect to see someone wearing if they were trapped in an invisible box?
- ____ Heart: One is a vegetable, one is a color, one is a religious icon, and one is an idiom for liking something.
- Candy Bar + Letter: This is the trickiest group. If you remove the final letter from each word, you get the name of a candy bar (e.g., “Skort” becomes “Skor”).
SPOILER WARNING: The full solutions and group names for puzzle #1185 are listed below.
Connections Answers for September 8, 2026
Yellow: American Performance Cars
- CORVETTE, FIREBIRD, MUSTANG, VIPER
These four words represent iconic American sports and muscle cars produced by Chevrolet, Pontiac, Ford, and Dodge, respectively.
Green: Mime Costume Features
- BERET, GLOVES, STRIPES, SUSPENDERS
These are the traditional clothing elements associated with a mime’s performance outfit.
Blue: ____ Heart
- ARTICHOKE, PURPLE, SACRED, TAKE TO
- Phrases: Artichoke heart, Purple Heart, Sacred Heart, and “take to heart.”
Purple: Candy Bar + Letter
- DOVES, MARSH, SKORT, TWIXT
This category is built on wordplay. Each word is formed by adding a single letter to the end of a candy bar brand name:
- DOVES: Dove + S
- MARSH: Mars + H
- SKORT: Skor + T
- TWIXT: Twix + T
Note that the word “Skort” relies on the Hershey’s “Skor” bar, an often-overlooked buttercrunch toffee bar.
