Today's puzzle combined words meaning limp or flimsy, four U.S. presidents, words that sound like two letters when spoken aloud, and words ending in terms for elevated landforms.
The yellow and green groups were fairly easy to spot, while the blue and purple categories relied on wordplay rather than obvious meaning.
The blue category was the trickiest, since it needed players to sound out each word instead of reading it at face value.
Today's puzzle mixes an everyday adjective, a slice of American history, and two clever wordplay categories built around sound and word endings. While some groups stand out quickly, others need players to look beyond the obvious meaning.
If you're stuck, the spoiler-free hints below will help before revealing the complete answers.
Today's Connections Clues: Here is one representative word from each category:
Yellow Category: SLACK; Green Category: GRANT; Blue Category: ODIE; Purple Category: PARAMOUNT
Yellow Category: Ways to describe something limp or lacking firmness.
Green Category: Commander in chief, from a past century.
Blue Category: Say each word out loud and listen for two letters. Purple Category: Look for a high point hiding at the end of each word.
Yellow Category: Lacking In Firmness; Green Category: U.S. Presidents; Blue Category: Words That Sound Like Two Letters; Purple Category: Ending In Elevated Landforms
The yellow group gathers different ways of saying something is limp or floppy. The green category holds the surnames of four U.S. presidents.
The blue section is trickier, since each word sounds like two letters strung together when spoken aloud. The purple category works on word endings, with each word ending on a term for a high point in the landscape.
Yellow List: Lacking In Firmness DROOPY FLACCID SAGGING SLACK
Green List: U.S. Presidents: CLEVELAND GARFIELD GRANT MADISON
Blue List: Words That Sound Like Two Letters EMPTY EXCESS KEWPIE ODIE
Purple List: Ending In Elevated Landforms DOUBLESPEAK HEATHCLIFF PARAMOUNT PORRIDGE
Also Read: NYT Connections Hints, Answers for September 12, 2026 (Puzzle #1189)
Today's NYT Connections puzzle was a fun mix of a common adjective and layered wordplay. The firmness-related synonyms and the presidential surnames felt fairly straightforward to spot. Still, the sound-based and word-ending categories made the puzzle more challenging, since players had to listen closely or look past each word's obvious meaning to catch the hidden pattern.