Game #1186 arrived on September 9 with a neat mix of synonyms, size prefixes, horror staples and a phrase-based oddball — a Connections board that rewards both quick instincts and a little phrase knowledge.
If you like sets that look obvious in places and strangely coy in others, today’s grid delivers: the horror quartet is immediate, the “small” prefixes pop if you spot the forms, and the force group hides a single-letter trick.
SPOILER WARNING: Below are full answers and analysis for NYT Connections Game #1186 (2026-09-09). If you haven’t finished the puzzle and want to play blind, stop here.
Today’s NYT Connections words
Sixteen words on the board, in the original order given by the game:
- INCOMPREHENSIBLE | ELECTROMAGNETIC | NANOTECHNOLOGY | ARACHNOPHOBIA
- MICROBREWERY | BEWILDERING | PICOSECOND | HALLOWEEN
- ESOTERIC | MINIVAN | OPAQUE | BRUTE
- ELECTROMAGNETIC | TASK | SAW | IT
Today’s NYT Connections hints
Four spoiler-light one-line nudges to get you started.
- 🟡 Yellow: Look for words that all mean something is difficult to grasp or understand.
- 🟢 Green: These are terms that contain or start with familiar prefixes meaning very small.
- 🔵 Blue: A straightforward movie-based set — think titles that have frightened generations.
- 🟣 Purple: Words that can pair with the same following word to form common phrases.
Today’s NYT Connections group titles
- 🟡 Yellow: “HARD TO UNDERSTAND”
- 🟢 Green: “WORDS WITH “SMALL” PREFIXES”
- 🔵 Blue: “HORROR MOVIES”
- 🟣 Purple: “WORDS BEFORE “FORCE””
What are today’s NYT Connections answers?
Here are the four correct groups for Game #1186.
| Colour | Group | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 🟡 Yellow | “HARD TO UNDERSTAND” | BEWILDERING, ESOTERIC, INCOMPREHENSIBLE, OPAQUE |
| 🟢 Green | “WORDS WITH “SMALL” PREFIXES” | MICROBREWERY, MINIVAN, NANOTECHNOLOGY, PICOSECOND |
| 🔵 Blue | “HORROR MOVIES” | ARACHNOPHOBIA, HALLOWEEN, IT, SAW |
| 🟣 Purple | “WORDS BEFORE “FORCE”” | BRUTE, ELECTROMAGNETIC, G, TASK |
Today’s Connections — expert analysis
The obvious entry was the horror group: ARACHNOPHOBIA, HALLOWEEN, IT and SAW are standouts that many players will spot on sight, so pick that quartet early to buy safe space. The “small” prefixes set — MICROBREWERY, MINIVAN, NANOTECHNOLOGY and PICOSECOND — is the other clean, pattern-driven group; once you notice micro/nano/pico and the less flashy mini in MINIVAN, it clicks.
The toughest cluster is the purple “WORDS BEFORE “FORCE”” set. It’s a phrase-based group rather than a semantic family, and G as a lone letter is the kind of token that will trip people up: G pairs with FORCE (G-FORCE), but G by itself looks odd on the grid and can feel like a decoy. ELECTROMAGNETIC and BRUTE are less sneaky but can be misread as science-y or blunt-adjective words, respectively, and TASK FORCE is idiomatic only if you test the phrase. Watch for overlaps that lure you away from the intended set — NANOTECHNOLOGY and PICOSECOND may look “esoteric” at first glance, and MINIVAN’s prefix is milder than micro/nano and so can be undernoticed.
Difficulty: 3/5 — one clear easy pair and one phrase-based cluster that rewards phrase knowledge.
Yesterday’s NYT Connections answers (Game #1185)
Quick recap of the previous day’s groups from Game #1185.
- 🟡 Yellow (“CLASSIC AMERICAN PERFORMANCE CARS”): CORVETTE, FIREBIRD, MUSTANG, VIPER
- 🟢 Green (“FEATURES OF A MIME COSTUME”): BERET, GLOVES, STRIPES, SUSPENDERS
- 🔵 Blue (“___ HEART”): ARTICHOKE, PURPLE, SACRED, TAKE TO
- 🟣 Purple (“CANDY BARS PLUS A LETTER”): DOVES, MARSH, SKORT, TWIXT
What is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections is a daily word game that asks players to find four groups of four related words from a 16-word grid. Relationships can be semantic, morphological, phrase-based or pattern-driven, and puzzles often include decoys that belong to multiple plausible categories.
Each day challenges you to spot the most natural groupings under time or guess constraints — it’s part vocabulary quiz, part lateral-thinking test.
How to play NYT Connections
- Scan the 16 words and look for an obvious quartet (shared meaning, prefix/suffix, films, phrases, etc.).
- Click or select four words you think form a group; correct selections lock in as a colour and remove those words.
- Repeat until all four groups (four colours) are found or you run out of guesses.
Past week’s NYT Connections answers
Missed a day? Full solutions from earlier this week, newest first.
Game #1184 — September 7
- 🟡 QUITE THE SAGA: FABRICATION, FISH STORY, TALL TALE, YARN
- 🟢 PARTS OF A BRA: CUP, HOOK, STRAP, UNDERWIRE
- 🔵 ASSOCIATED WITH PINE TREES: CAR AIR FRESHENER, CHRISTMAS, NEEDLES, TURPENTINE
- 🟣 STARTING WITH DISNEY CHARACTERS: PLUTONIUM, SCAR TISSUE, STITCH MARKER, TRAMPOLINE
Game #1183 — September 6
- 🟡 UNRESTRICTED PERMISSION: BLANK CHECK, CARTE BLANCHE, FREE REIN, FULL AUTHORITY
- 🟢 PLACES TO INSERT SOMETHING INTO ON A COMPUTER: CARD SLOT, HEADPHONE JACK, OPTICAL DRIVE, USB PORT
- 🔵 ABBREVIATIONS FOLLOWED BY REDUNDANT WORD: ATM MACHINE, LCD DISPLAY, PIN NUMBER, UPC CODE
- 🟣 ENDING WITH WAYS TO CARVE A SURFACE: COURT SCRIBE, DIRECTOR’S CUT, PIZZA SLICE, SAT SCORE
Game #1182 — September 5
- 🟡 MOVE UNSTEADILY: SWAY, TODDLE, TOTTER, WOBBLE
- 🟢 BIRD ONOMATOPOEIA: COO, GOBBLE, HONK, WARBLE
- 🔵 ___HEAD: BOBBLE, HAMMER, JUG, SLEEPY
- 🟣 DESSERTS MINUS LAST LETTER: COBBLE, PI, TAR, TORT
Game #1181 — September 4
- 🟡 SPHERICAL THINGS: BOWLING BALL, EYE, MOON, ORANGE
- 🟢 FOOD WHOSE NAME IS TWO FOODS: CAKE DONUT, CANDY CORN, CHERRY TOMATO, PIZZA PIE
- 🔵 KINDS OF EELS: CONGER, GULPER, MORAY, RIBBON
- 🟣 ACCESSORIES INSIDE STARTING AND ENDING LETTERS: CRINGY, OPINE, STIED, THAT’S
Game #1180 — September 3
- 🟡 TWO SHAKES OF A LAMB’S TAIL: BLINK, FLASH, HEARTBEAT, TRICE
- 🟢 SHADES OF RED: CARMINE, CINNABAR, MAROON, VERMILLION
- 🔵 TOY CAR BRANDS: HOT WHEELS, MATCHBOX, MICRO MACHINES, TONKA
- 🟣 SPREADSHEET FUNCTIONS: AVERAGE, COUNT, MAX, SUM
Game #1179 — September 2
- 🟡 FLABBERGAST: DAZZLE, FLOOR, STUN, WOW
- 🟢 THINGS IN A VIOLIN CASE: BOW, MUTE, ROSIN, SHOULDER REST
- 🔵 ___ DOGS (THAT ARE DOGS): HUNTING, RESCUE, SAUSAGE, SHEEP
- 🟣 ___ DOGS (THAT AREN’T DOGS): CORN, PRAIRIE, SALTY, TOP
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.
