The NYT Connections puzzle for September 23, 2026, marks a significant milestone as the game reaches puzzle #1200. This daily word game, managed by associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu, continues to challenge players to find common links between sixteen words. If you are looking to maintain your streak or improve your score on the Connections Bot, these hints will help you navigate today’s categories.
Connections Hints for September 23
Today’s board features a mix of everyday essentials, digital friction, and clever wordplay involving synonyms. Here are some progressive hints to help you solve the groups:
- Yellow Category Hint: Think about the items you check for every single time you walk out the front door.
- Green Category Hint: These are the digital roadblocks and pop-ups that appear when you are browsing the internet.
- Blue Category Hint: All of these items are traditionally sold in a specific type of metal container.
- Purple Category Hint: Each of these words or phrases ends with a word that can also function as a verb meaning “to designate” or “to call.”
Spoiler Warning
Stop reading here if you want to solve the puzzle on your own. The following section contains the full answers for each category in puzzle #1200.
Today’s Connections Answers
Yellow: Things you grab before leaving the house
KEYS, PHONE, SUNGLASSES, WALLET
These are the standard personal effects most people carry daily.
Green: Website hurdles
AGE VERIFICATION, CAPTCHA, COOKIE CONSENT, PAYWALL
These terms represent standard industry terminology for user friction encountered on the web. According to Forbes, these are the digital obstacles that prevent immediate access to content.
Blue: Things that come in cans
CONDENSED MILK, PAINT, SHAVING CREAM, SPAM
While the contents vary from food to hardware supplies, they share the same cylindrical packaging.
Purple: Ending in synonyms for “term”
BITCOIN, RECORD LABEL, RUB-A-DUB, SURINAME
This category relies on wordplay where the suffix of each word is a verb used to “term” or “dub” something. For example, to “coin” a phrase or “label” a product.
The purple category is particularly tricky today because it requires identifying synonyms for the verb “term” (meaning to name) hidden within larger words or compound phrases. Suriname and Bitcoin are the most likely to trip up players who are only looking for literal meanings.
