The NYT Connections puzzle for September 27, 2026 is live, and today’s set of words is all about shared threads. Associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu helped create the game and brought it to the Times’ Games section. Players find the common ground between 16 words split across four categories. Each grouping is color-coded: yellow is easiest, green follows, then blue, with purple being the hardest. One wrong guess and the game ends, so the pressure is real.
Categories for Today
The hints for today’s puzzle break down the four groups:
- Yellow: Sculpture media
- Green: Restaurant seating options
- Blue: Telecom
- Purple: Ending in Chinese dynasties
The Answers Reveal Themselves
The solutions for each category are now revealed:
- Sculpture media: BRONZE, CLAY, MARBLE, PLASTER
- Restaurant seating options: BANQUETTE, BOOTH, CHAIR, STOOL
- Telecom: CARRIER, NETWORK, OPERATOR, PROVIDER
- Purple: BBQING, HOMING, LOHAN, WU-TANG
Why the Purple Category Works
“BBQING, HOMING, LOHAN, WU-TANG” is a delightfully strange quartet. The common thread is that the words are ending in Chinese dynasties. It is a clever trick.
How to Play
Players can rearrange the board and shuffle the words to spot connections more easily. Each correct grouping removes those words from play. Players get up to four mistakes before the game ends.
Like Wordle, Connections shares results on social media. The Times’ Games section hosts the game on web browsers and mobile devices.
The Hints That Helped
The hints were designed to guide without giving away the answers. Yellow pointed to a work of art, which led to sculpture media. Green pointed to dining out, which led to restaurant seating options. Blue pointed to a tech system, which led to telecom. Purple pointed to endings in Chinese dynasties, which led to the final set.
What Comes After
Mashable offers additional puzzle coverage, including hints for NYT Strands. The site also runs a games hub with Mahjong, Sudoku, and crosswords for readers who want more.
The Difficulty Curve
The game resets after midnight, so the difficulty curve keeps climbing. Today’s puzzle is not too difficult if you are a foodie.
The Verdict on the Purple Set
The purple category’s answer is a clever twist. The game is all about finding common threads, and today’s puzzle proved that sometimes the thread is just the letters at the end of the word.
For now, the answers are out, and the purple category has earned its place as the day’s strangest set of words.
Source material: “NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for September 27, 2026,” Mashable.
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