The NYT Connections puzzle for September 25, 2026 is live, and Mashable has posted hints for the categories along with the full answers if you want to cheat. The game, created by associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu, asks players to find common threads between 16 words grouped into four categories. Each category is color-coded: yellow is the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple.
Hints By Color
Mashable offers a series of riddle-like hints for each category before revealing the answers. Yellow is hinted at with “Ooo la la!” which points to the theme of luxury. Green is “Tick tock,” a nod to parts of a mechanical clock. Blue is “Same names,” pointing to famous people with the surname Dan. Purple is “Taxonomic ranks plus a letter.”
The Full Solutions
The full solutions are already posted, so there’s no turning back if you wanted to solve it yourself. The yellow category, Luxe, includes the words BOUGIE, FANCY, POSH, and SWANK. The green category, Parts of a mechanical clock, covers ESCAPEMENT, PENDULUM, RATCHET, and SPRING. The blue category, Famous Dans, lists AYKROYD, LEVY, RATHER, and SAVAGE. The purple category, Taxonomic ranks plus a letter, includes BORDER, CLASSY, FOAMILY, and GENIUS.
How The Game Works
Connections resets after midnight like Wordle, and each new set of words gets trickier. Players get up to four mistakes before the game ends, and the categories themselves can range from book titles to country names to software. The game is available on web browsers and mobile devices, and players can rearrange and shuffle the board to spot connections more easily.
The color-coding system is a useful guide for beginners. Yellow is the starting point, and purple is the hardest. The game also lets you share your results on social media, making it easy to show off a win or commiserate with a loss.
Using The Hints
If you want to solve today’s puzzle yourself, the hints are designed to nudge you in the right direction without giving away the exact words. Read the riddles, think about the themes, and see if you can guess the category before checking the full answers. The hints are meant to be helpful, not spoilers.
For anyone who wants the solution immediately, the answers are posted in full. Just scroll to the bottom of the page.
What The Hints Reveal
- Yellow: “Ooo la la!” — Luxe
- Green: “Tick tock” — Parts of a mechanical clock
- Blue: “Same names” — Famous Dans
- Purple: “Taxonomic ranks plus a letter” — Taxonomic ranks plus a letter
The game also offers hints for NYT Strands, and Mashable’s games hub includes Mahjong, Sudoku, and free crosswords. If you’re looking for more puzzles, that’s the place to go. And if you’re not the cheating type, the hints are there to help you solve it yourself.
| Category | Hint | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | “Ooo la la!” | Luxe |
| Green | “Tick tock” | Parts of a mechanical clock |
| Blue | “Same names” | Famous Dans |
| Purple | “Taxonomic ranks plus a letter” | Taxonomic ranks plus a letter |
The full list of words in the puzzle includes AYKROYD, BORDER, BOUGIE, CLASSY, ESCAPEMENT, FANCY, FOAMILY, GENIUS, LEVY, PENDULUM, POSH, RATHER, RATCHET, SAVAGE, SPRING, and SWANK.
Source material: “NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for September 25, 2026,” Mashable.
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