Connections · #1190 · Sunday, September 13, 2026
Connections Hints & Answer Today
Updated Sep 13, 2026 · new puzzle daily at midnight ET
Spoiler-safe hints first, then today's four groups — plus the tricky purple group explained.
Today's Connections Hints
Open the hints one at a time — difficulty, then the four themes, then a starter word for each.
1Hint 1Difficulty & the trap
Today's grid rates 5/10 (Medium). The purple group is the trap, with the usual purple-group misdirection — sort the other three first.2Hint 2The four themes
- Yellow — LACKING IN FIRMNESS
- Green — U.S. PRESIDENTS
- Blue — WORDS THAT SOUND LIKE TWO LETTERS
- Purple — ENDING IN ELEVATED LANDFORMS
Knowing the four connections still leaves you to place all sixteen words.
3Hint 3One word per group
- Yellow — starts you off with DROOPY
- Green — starts you off with GARFIELD
- Blue — starts you off with EMPTY
- Purple — starts you off with PORRIDGE
Today's Connections Groups
The full answer, colour-coded by difficulty — hidden until you reveal it.
Reveal the four groups
Connections answer · #1190
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Yellow · LACKING IN FIRMNESS
DROOPYSLACKSAGGINGFLACCID
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Green · U.S. PRESIDENTS
GARFIELDGRANTMADISONCLEVELAND
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Blue · WORDS THAT SOUND LIKE TWO LETTERS
EMPTYEXCESSODIEKEWPIE
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Purple · ENDING IN ELEVATED LANDFORMS
PORRIDGEHEATHCLIFFPARAMOUNTDOUBLESPEAK
The Purple Group, Explained
Purple is where most solves fall apart. Here's the trick behind it (spoiler).
Lateral thinkingShow the purple group breakdown
ENDING IN ELEVATED LANDFORMS
PORRIDGE · HEATHCLIFF · PARAMOUNT · DOUBLESPEAK
These four share a subtle link that isn't a plain category — when three groups fall into place, the leftover four are the purple set even if you can't name the theme.
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When Does the Next Connections Reset?
Connections rolls over at midnight Eastern Time. Here's the countdown to the next puzzle.
Next Connections unlocks in
How to Play Connections
Connections gives you a 4×4 grid of sixteen words and asks you to sort them into four hidden groups of four. Each group shares a connection — a category, a theme, or a piece of wordplay — and you have just four mistakes before the game ends.
Grouping the words
Select four words you think belong together and submit. A correct group locks in with its colour; a wrong guess costs you one of four lives. The groups are ranked by difficulty: yellow is easiest, then green and blue, and purple is the trickiest.
Why it's harder than it looks
The catch is overlap. Words are chosen so several could plausibly fit more than one group, and the purple group often relies on wordplay rather than meaning. Solving the three easier groups first is the safest route to the purple four.
Best Connections Strategy
Because you only get four mistakes, the winning move is to lock in what you're sure of and use elimination for the rest.
Solve from yellow, finish with purple
Start with the group you're most confident about — usually yellow. Every correct group removes four words and narrows the overlaps, so by the time you reach purple the leftover four are often forced, even if you can't name their connection.
Watch for the overlap traps
Before you submit, ask whether any of your four words could belong to another group. The puzzle is built around those red herrings, so a word that "obviously" fits is exactly the one to double-check.
Tips to Solve Connections Faster
- Sort the sure things first. Lock the group you're confident about before touching the ambiguous words.
- Count the candidates. If five words fit one theme, one of them belongs elsewhere — that's the puzzle's trap.
- Save purple for last. Three correct groups usually force the fourth, wordplay and all.
- Read purple for wordplay. Homophones, hidden words, and added letters beat topic-matching.
- Take a hint before guessing blind. One theme clue is cheaper than a lost life.
Common Connections Mistakes to Avoid
- Guessing the obvious group first. The most "obvious" four often contain a decoy meant for another set.
- Ignoring the purple wordplay. If a group won't resolve by meaning, it's probably a homophone, hidden word, or letter trick.
- Burning guesses early. With only four mistakes, a wild stab on a shaky group can end the run before purple.
- Confusing it with other word games. Connections is the grouping game; the five-letter guess is Wordle.