NYT Connections Hints September 26, 2025: Check Clues and Answers to Solve Today’s Puzzle Game

NYT Connections is a daily word game from The New York Times, in which the player organizes 16 words into four categories. Each category has a concealed theme, including easy categories like colors or food, or more challenging ones that involve cultural references or wordplay. The game is designed to test honest logic and patterns, language skills, and reasoning; not to mention that it’s fun. The simplicity and challenge of the categories create a unique gaming experience, one that keeps the player interested, while also offering the thrill of discovery once connections are realized. 

The September 26, 2025, issue of NYT Connections has a pleasant mixture of direct matches and clever twists. While some groups were revealed almost instantly, others took some thought and a second look at the words to identify. The puzzle had a nice variety of its themes, and it combined relatively straightforward word categories, along with amusing cultural references and allusions. The challenge wasn't extreme, but it gave players a sense of thinking outside of the box and creatively puzzling. 

Check Out: NYT Connections Hints September 25, 2025: Check Clues and Answers to Solve Today’s Puzzle Game

Hints for NYT Connections September 26, 2025  

The NYT Connections Puzzle (#839) featured simple word matches as well as more challenging associations, providing instant gratification with room for thought. The puzzle contained cultural references and witty puns while remaining fun and exciting to work through. If you completed all four groups, well done! 

Yellow Group Hint: All four are verbs you often do to batter or cream.

Green Group Hint: These four describe low intensity or low visibility.

Blue Group Hint: All four are species or common names of bears.

Purple Group Hint: The right choice pairs with “nasty” and “profane” in similar contexts.

Stepping back will often expose the clever logic that provided the unifying. Let’s take a moment to go through the groups together and explore the connections that tie these words together so nicely.

NYT Connections Answers for September 26, 2025 (Friday)

NYT Connections Puzzle (#839) offered a number of straightforward groupings and some delightful surprises. The blending of cultural references with wit and double meanings resulted in a pleasant and simple experience. It didn’t feel too confusing. If you successfully completed all four groups, congratulations! If not, there is nothing to worry about; you are still practicing pattern recognition! The bottom line is you should simply keep solving and have fun, as you are developing your instincts with each puzzle.

YELLOW: STIR VIGOROUSLY (BEAT, CREAM, WHIP, WHISK)

GREEN: HARD TO MAKE OUT (DIM, FAINT, LIGHT, PALE)

BLUE:  KINDS OF BEARS (BLACK, BROWN, POLAR, SUN)

PURPLE:  DIRTY ___ (BLONDE, POOL, RICE, WORD)

It’s perfectly fine if you don’t complete a Connections puzzle, or if you need to set it aside before reaching the solution.

What is the NYT Connections Game?

For many who write and solve crossword puzzles every day, The New York Times Connections has become a big piece in that daily puzzle using words (letters) as a challenge. The difference in the Connections puzzle is that you are working to put together the pattern from the words rather than solving a crossword grid. The connections puzzle hones the puzzle-player into dealing with pattern recognition, creative ideas, and sometimes clever cultural references.

Each of the four will have a color associated with the solution. Green is usually the easiest color group, yellow is next, and blue is last, and is usually the most difficult color group. Connections becomes so addictive for the player because of the combination of logical and creative experiences. To start, the puzzle is an unusually easy exercise, but the further you go, the more words you have, and you want to play again the next day for something different.

How to Play the NYT Connections Puzzle

At first glance, NYT Connections looks like an unadulterated word game, and with its undeniably clear interface, it is easy to come to that conclusion. While certainly there are specific definitional and/or relationship connections in some of the groups, many others rely on pop-cultural connections, wordplay, and thematic or semantic connections that may not be as obvious and fall much deeper into abstraction of structuring themes. 

Lastly, further to enjoyment and engagement to play again, it is certainly worth the experience to enjoy the experience of play again .

Best Strategies to Solve NYT Connections Puzzles

One useful suggestion while working on the NYT Connections puzzle is to first sort the easier groups, typically one of the yellow or green ones, because it helps you a bit with "bones" for the other, sometimes harder categories (less space on the board), and usually gives you some clues to the more difficult connections. If you end up stuck after identifying the easier groups, try moving the words again into different positions a second time, moving them around, saying the words out loud, etc. 

 Sometimes, taking a small break or simply a different thought or perspective will help you find the link you were unable to find earlier. Also, note that the groups sometimes do not have to go together because of definitions.  They can be cultural references or clever wordplay, or just a logical connection, as well.  In fact, when you go to begin forming the words into groups, part of your job will be to keep an open mind, make some guesses, try things out, and rethink your formations!

Other NYT Games to Explore

If NYT Connections has become your new favorite, check out other daily brain teasers and games from The New York Times. 

Wordle: Guess a five-letter word in six attempts. 

Spelling Bee: Craft as many words as possible from a set of seven letters.

Mini Crossword: For a quick wordplay, perfect for a coffee break.

That's all for today's NYT Connections puzzle! Be sure to come back tomorrow for NYT Connections Hints and Answers for September 27, 2025.