NYT Connections Game #1198 (September 21) serves up a compact board that pairs obvious inbox options with classic chess moves and a couple of convincing fishing lures. If you like tidy themes with one sneaky truncated set, today’s puzzle will be satisfying.
There’s a clear entry point and a single cluster built to trip you up — spot the easy fours, then watch for words that belong in two places.
SPOILER WARNING: The sections below name every group and list every answer. If you want to solve the puzzle yourself first, stop reading now.
Today’s NYT Connections words
Here are the 16 tiles you faced today.
- COMPOSE | CHECK | FLY | BEET
- BRAH | WORM | SPAM | MATE
- CASTLE | CHUM | VIVA | SENT
- CHOP | CAPTURE | DRAFTS | SPINNER
Today’s NYT Connections hints
Four spoiler-light clues to nudge you in the right direction.
- 🟡 Yellow: These are items you might click in your email client.
- 🟢 Green: Lures or baits you’d use to attract fish.
- 🔵 Blue: Actions you can take during a chess game.
- 🟣 Purple: Short strings that begin well-known composers’ names.
Today’s NYT Connections group titles
The official group titles for today’s puzzle.
- 🟡 Yellow: EMAIL BUTTONS
- 🟢 Green: WAYS TO ATTRACT FISH
- 🔵 Blue: CHESS VERBS
- 🟣 Purple: STARTS OF COMPOSERS’ NAMES
What are today’s NYT Connections answers?
All four solution groups for Game #1198.
| Colour | Group | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 🟡 Yellow | EMAIL BUTTONS | COMPOSE, DRAFTS, SENT, SPAM |
| 🟢 Green | WAYS TO ATTRACT FISH | CHUM, FLY, SPINNER, WORM |
| 🔵 Blue | CHESS VERBS | CAPTURE, CASTLE, CHECK, MATE |
| 🟣 Purple | STARTS OF COMPOSERS’ NAMES | BEET, BRAH, CHOP, VIVA |
Today’s Connections — expert analysis
The natural entry point was the email group: SPAM and SENT are bright neon signals for inbox-related items, and once you spot one the rest fall into place (COMPOSE and DRAFTS). That cluster is the quickest clean sweep most players will make.
The toughest set was the composers’ prefixes (BEET, BRAH, CHOP, VIVA). Those are truncated strings rather than full words, so they don’t read as an obvious shared category at first glance — BEET and CHOP look like food or actions, BRAH reads like slang, and VIVA can feel like an interjection. A lot of players will be diverted by those meanings and try to shoehorn CHOP or BEET into cooking or gardening categories instead. Expect CHECK and CAPTURE to create hesitation too: they belong to the chess group, but CHECK also appears in everyday phrases and CAPTURE could be used more generally, so they’re tempting mis-clicks.
If you’re stuck, spend your first safe guess on SPAM (or SENT) to lock down the email group — it’s the cleanest quartet and frees you to probe the trickier clusters without ending the game. From there, CHUM, FLY or SPINNER make good bets for the fishing set because those words are narrowly tied to lure types and will separate from broader verbs like CHECK or CAPTURE.
Difficulty: 2.5/5 — a mostly straightforward board with a single tempting bait.
Yesterday’s NYT Connections answers (Game #1197)
Quick recap of Game #1197 for reference.
- 🟡 Yellow (ROUND FLAT THINGS): BLU-RAY, COASTER, SAND DOLLAR, TORTILLA
- 🟢 Green (ASSOCIATED WITH KENTUCKY): BLUEGRASS, BOURBON, DERBY, FRIED CHICKEN
- 🔵 Blue (VAMPIRE MOVIES): BLADE, NEAR DARK, SINNERS, TWILIGHT
- 🟣 Purple (___BOARDS YOU RIDE ON): HOVER, SKATE, SNOW, SURF
What is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections is a daily word-association puzzle that gives you 16 tiles and asks you to group them into four related sets of four. Each set shares a common theme, which can be literal (actions, objects) or more cryptic (prefixes, truncated names).
How to play NYT Connections
- Scan the 16 words and look for one obvious quartet to lock in first.
- Select four words you think form a group; correct selections become permanent, incorrect ones cost attempts.
- Repeat until you’ve found all four groups or run out of guesses.
Past week’s NYT Connections answers
Missed a day? Full solutions from earlier this week, newest first.
Game #1196 — September 19
- 🟡 WIDEN ONE’S SCOPE: BRANCH OUT, DIVERSIFY, EXPAND, GROW
- 🟢 FEATURES OF A KID’S DRAWING: HOUSE, STICK FIGURE, SUN, TREE
- 🔵 ASSOCIATED WITH SWINGING LONDON IN THE 1960S: CARNABY STREET, MINISKIRT, MOD, TWIGGY
- 🟣 STARTING WITH ABBREVIATED MATH FUNCTIONS: COS LETTUCE, LOG CABIN, SIN CITY, TAN LINE
Game #1195 — September 18
- 🟡 SEGMENT OF A PROCESS: PHASE, ROUND, STAGE, STEP
- 🟢 ASSORTMENTS OF FOOD/DRINK: FLIGHT, MEDLEY, PLATTER, SAMPLER
- 🔵 PARTS OF A FLIGHT: BOARDING, CRUISE, LANDING, TAKEOFF
- 🟣 ___CASE: BRIEF, PILLOW, STAIR, UPPER
Game #1194 — September 17
- 🟡 ELASTICITY: BOUNCE, FLEXIBILITY, GIVE, SPRING
- 🟢 THINGS THAT ARE UNDERGROUND: MINE SHAFT, SEWER LINE, SUBWAY STATION, WELL
- 🔵 HUGH JACKMAN MOVIES, WITH “THE”: FOUNTAIN, PRESTIGE, SHEEP DETECTIVES, WOLVERINE
- 🟣 LOVE ___: HANDLES, LANGUAGE, TAP, TRIANGLE
Game #1193 — September 16
- 🟡 ENDING IN METAL ELEMENTS: LATIN, LONG JOHN SILVER, MARIGOLD, STEAM IRON
- 🟢 STARTING WITH U.S. COINS: DIMENSION, NICKELODEON, PENNYWISE, QUARTERBACK
- 🔵 POETS’ MIDDLE NAMES: BARRETT, CARLOS, ST. VINCENT, WADSWORTH
- 🟣 SAUSAGES PLUS A LETTER: BORAT, CLINK, FRANK-N-FURTER, WIDENER
Game #1192 — September 15
- 🟡 INSTRUCT: COACH, DIRECT, GUIDE, TRAIN
- 🟢 PARTS OF A WHISTLING KETTLE: HANDLE, LID, SPOUT, WHISTLE
- 🔵 UNDERCOVER OPERATIVE: ASSET, MOLE, PLANT, SLEEPER
- 🟣 THINGS THAT APPEAR AT THE END: CABOOSE, DECEMBER, DESSERT, EPILOGUE
Game #1191 — September 14
- 🟡 WATERBIRDS: COOT, GOOSE, LOON, TEAL
- 🟢 INFORMANT: CANARY, RAT, SNITCH, STOOLIE
- 🔵 COMMON SINGLE-USE PLASTIC ITEMS: BAG, CUTLERY, STIRRER, STRAW
- 🟣 ___GRASS: BLUE, CRAB, LEMON, WHEAT
More daily puzzle help from HashTechWave
- Today’s NYT Strands hints, spangram and answers
- Today’s NYT Spelling Bee answers and pangram
- Today’s Wordle hints, clues and answer
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What time does a new NYT Connections puzzle unlock?
A brand-new puzzle drops every single night at midnight local time across your specific region’s time zone on NYT Connection official site.
Why do some words seem to fit into two different groups?
The puzzle is specifically designed to include “decoys” or overlapping vocabulary. Always look for a backup configuration of words before locking in an early guess to protect your attempt counter.
Can I review answers to older puzzles?
Yes — we keep the past week of solutions right here on this page. Scroll up to the “Past week’s NYT Connections answers” section for every recent grid, newest first, plus a full breakdown of yesterday’s puzzle.
